One Sweet Day
by KimMalfoy
Summary: After losing the love of her life, the father of her now five year old daugther, Hermione wonders if she ever will be able to love again...
1. Need Somebody

**Chapter one - Need Somebody**

"Mummy, tell me about daddy, please!" Rebecca begged.

"I've told you a trillion times Becky", Hermione said and smiled at her five year old daughters' excited face.

"I know, but please, just one more time", she asked and smiled. She knew her mother could never resist her smile.

"Ok, I'll tell you, but after you've got dressed"

"It's Saturday mum, I don't have to get dressed yet", she said. On Saturdays the two of them usually wore our pyjamas all day long.

"But we're going to aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry today, remember?"

"Is Uncle Fred and Uncle George going to be there too?" Becky asked with a huge smile on her lips.

"I don't think so dear, but you can play with James", Hermione told her. James was Harry and Ginny's four year old son, he was named after Harry's father. "And Luna; Neville and Kylie will be there too!" Kylie was Luna and Neville's two year old daughter.

"But I wanna play with Fred and George", she said.

"I know you do, but please Becky, go get your dress now and then we have to go"

"You're going to tell me about daddy again"

"Yes", Hermione replied and watched her daughter run out of the bathroom. Then she continued to put on her make-up as she started to think about Ron. He didn't know that Hermione was pregnant with with their child when he died, Hermione didn't even know. She found out two days later, and that's what made her wanna live. She was just about to give up, she was going to kill herself but when she found out that she was going to have a baby, Rons baby, she found new strength to carry on.

"Look at me mummy", Becky said and entered the bathroom once again. She danced around in a blue dress which Mrs Weasley gave her for Christmas last year. It matched her blue eyes perfectly.

"You look beautiful", Hermione said and smiled at her. Becky stopped dancing and hugged her mothers leg.

"So do you mum", she said. "I wanna be as beautiful as you when I'm older"  
Hermione laughed, Rebecca smiled and let go of her leg and started to dance around in the bathroom again. When Hermione finished her make-up they went into the living room and sat down in the sofa. Becky sat in Hermione's knee, they always sat like that when they talked about Ron.

"Your dad and I fell in love during our sixth year at Hogwarts, we were so madly in love with each other that even headmaster Dumbledore himself said that he'd never seen a more in love couple that your father and I", Hermione told her daughter, like she had done so many times before and Becky smiled brightly.

"You were a princess and he was your prince", Becky said and giggled. She loved fairytales, she always used to write and draw her own, with Hermione and Ron as the main characters.

"When we graduated from Hogwarts your father asked me to marry him, I said yes of course and we were going to get married later that year", Hermione said remembering the day Ron proposed to her.

**Flashback.**  
_  
"Now that we're finally alone I have something I want to say to you", Ron said and suddenly seemed a little bit nervous. Hermione smiled at him and closed the door to their room at the Leaky Cauldron._

"Hermione I… I love you, you are my everything", he said and looked straight into his beloved girlfriends eyes. Hermione leaned over to kiss him, he immediately kissed her back. The kiss was breathtaking.

"During these dark times that can make the happiest guy on earth depressed you're the light that makes me smile", he whispered against my lips. "I hope that I'm your light to"

"Believe me Ron, you are", Hermione said with a smile, he smiled back at her and took up a little red box from his pocket.

"I wanna spend the rest of my life with you Hermione", he said and opened the box to reveal a beautiful golden ring. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh Ron, yes, of course", Hermione gasped. He smiled and put the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful Ron, it must have cost you a fortune"

"It did actually, but what's money when I get to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love", he said. Hermione put her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Then they made love all night… That was the last night they spent together, the night Becky was brought to life.  
  
**End Flashback.**

"Go on mummy!" Becky exclaimed. Hermione woke up from her thoughts of Ron and glanced at the golden ring that she still had on her finger.

"Just two days after he asked me to marry him the war broke out", Hermione sighed. "So many people died, among them your grandfather and your Uncle Bill, it was the most horrible day of my life", she took a deep breath before she continued to tell Becky about what happened. "That day Harry, your father and I came face to face with Lord Voldemort himself"

"Did he really have red eyes? James says so", asked Becky.

"Yes he did, he looked really scary", Hermione told her. "Harry was the one he wanted to kill the most so when he found us he pointed his wand at Harry and screamed one of the forbidden spells"

Becky gasped, even though she had heard this story so many times she always reacted like she'd never heard it before.

"Green flashes flew towards Harry and your father…" Once again Hermione needed to take a deep breath before continuing. "Your father threw himself in front of Harry and got hit by the dangerous flashes"

"I hate Voldemort", Becky said. Normally Hermione didn't like it when she used the word 'hate' but when they talked about Lord Voldemort she didn't care. Because if there was any person that was worthy all the hate in the world it was him…

"When your father fell to the ground Lord Voldemort thought it was Harry, so he laughed and thought that the battle was won, but that gave Harry the time to kill him"

"Harry is a hero", Becky whispered. "And so is daddy"

"Yes, both of them are heroes", Hermione mumbled and tried hard not to cry. The painful memory of Ron falling dead to the ground always brought tears to her eyes, but she didn't want to cry in front of Rebecca. "Ok, we have to go now honey"

- **At Harry and Ginnys place** -

"Hermione, it's so good to see you again", Ginny exclaimed and gave her best friend a big hug. "Let's never ever spend this much time away from each other again", she continued.

"It's been a week since we met the last time", Hermione said and smirked at her.

"I know, but that's seven days to much", she said as they let go of each other. "And Becky, my favourite niece, give me a big hug", Ginny exclaimed and lifted Becky up. "James is upstairs, you can go and play with him", Ginny said as she put down Becky at the floor again. Becky smiled at her mother before she ran up the stairs.

"Are Neville and Luna are already here?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, they're at the porch with Harry", Ginny replied. "Come on, you don't have to take of your shoes", she continued and they walked through the house and outside to the backyard.

"Hermione!" Luna exclaimed when she noticed her walking out from the house with Ginny. She gave Hermione a big hug.  
Hermione had not met Luna and Neville for a month, they'd been visiting Lunas grandparents in Scotland.

"Luna, you look stunning", Hermione said as they let go of each other. Because she really did, her blond hair shined in the sun, and her always so dreamy eyes looked even bluer then usual.

"So do you", she said. Neville came up to Hermione with Kylie in his arms.

"Hi Kylie", Hermione said and smiled brightly at the little blond girl. Kylie flushed a little bit and smiled back at her. "And hi Neville"

"Hermione, always nice to see you", he said and smiled.  
Hermione noticed how much Kylie looked like him, they had the same nose, the same eyes and the exact same smile, but her hair was a blond as her mothers.  
Harry came up to Hermione and gave her a long, warm hug.

"Harry, can you help me with the chicken?" Ginny asked. Harry and Hermione let go of each other, he smiled at her before he went back into the house with Ginny. His brown hair was as messy as always, as they walked through the door he put his arm around Ginnys shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. Which reminded Hermione of the last summer she'd spent with Ron in the burrow, she was really glad when Luna started to talk about something completely different...

"How's work?" Asked Luna and handed Hermione a glass of butterbeer.

"Thanks, it's ok"

"I heard your boss passed away", she continued and took a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, he was really old", Hermione replied and thought about Mr Palmer who was almost 80 years old when he passed away. He'd been the owner of the Daily Prophet for 55 years, now it was time for someone else to run the company. "We're getting introduced to the new boss on Monday", she told Luna and Neville.

"Have any idea of who it is?" Luna asked.

"No, but I've heard it's someone related to him, probably his nephew or something…"

About three or four hours later, James and Rebecca had fallen asleep in the sofa. Harry and Neville were in the kitchen talking about a quidditch game they were going to the next day. Luna, Ginny and Hermione sat outside and talked about pregnancy.

"It's getting heavier each day", Ginny, who was five months pregnant with twins, said. "And I thought carrying James was heavy"

They all laughed. Luna, who also was pregnant, clapped her tummy and said: "Seven months left, can't believe I have to wait for that long, I want to see my baby now!"

"Time flows", Hermione sighed and took a sip of her butterbeer. She couldn't really help feeling jealous, both her best friends were so happy in love... And her love life? Wait a minute, she didn't have any love life, she had not been seeing anyone since Ron passed away, and that was five years ago.

"It sure does", Luna said and smiled at Hermione. "By the way Mione, how is it going with your love life?"

"What love life?" She replied and they all burst out laughing again.

"You seriously need to find someone!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship"

"We know you miss Ron terribly, we all do", Ginny begun. "But you can not be alone for the rest of your life Mione!"

"Exactly, I mean have you dated anyone since he passed?" Luna asked.

"Er… no", Hermione replied. "I've tried, but every time I go out with someone I think about… him." She sighed.

"And how many times have you tried? Two?" Ginny teased.

"Three actually", Hermione replied and smirked at Ginny.

"Let me hook you up with someone", Luna giggled. "My cousin is single"  
Ginny and Hermione looked at each other, Luna was talking about her cousin Darwin who's biggest interest was to play quidditch, talk about quidditch and did hardly speak of anything else but quidditch.

"He's too much of a quidditch freak for Mione", Ginny said and they burst out laughing again.

"Alright, alright, but what about Dean Thomas? I heard he broke up with Parvatti", Luna said and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and I heard he broke up with her because he was in love with Padma", Ginny said and they continued to laugh.

"I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine as I am"

"Hermione, you need love!" Luna exclaimed. "You need a man that can satisfy all your needs"

"You need sex", Ginny giggled. Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

"Let's make a deal", Luna said. "If you don't find a date until next weekend, Ginny and I, are going to hook you up with someone, ok?" She continued and smiled at Hermione. Ginny giggled even more and nodded her head.

"Alright", Hermione mumbled, and didn't really understand what she'd given herself in to…

* * *

**Authors note:** Yep, this is the beginning of my new story. It might be a little short, but I'll try to make the upcoming chapters longer.  
Please let me know what you think! xx Kim.  



	2. The New Boss

Chapter two – the new boss

Hermione arrived to her job at the Daily Prophet just in time for the staff meeting where they, for the first time, would meet their new boss, the new owner of the Prophet. She sat down beside Colin Creevey who was recently hired as a photographer.

"Good morning Hermione", Colin said and smiled at her. "You arrived just in the nick of time, they say he's coming any minute now"

"Any idea who it is?" She asked, but Colin never had the time to answer because just in that very moment a blond man in Hermiones age stepped into the room. She recognized him immediately, this could not be true!

"Hi", the man said and smirked at the staff. Oh, that smirk, Hermione could just kill him for that smirk. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm the new owner of the Prophet, your new boss"

Hermiones yaw dropped to the floor, of all the people on earth, why him?

"I recognize some of your faces", he said and looked at the crowd of people staring at him. His eyes stuck on Hermione, he raised an eyebrow and gave her a wink. "We're using the same old rules, and the rumours floating around about changing the name of the paper is not true"

_How dare he? Giving me winks like that, in front of the entire staff,_ Hermione thought.

"Any questions?" Draco asked, once again with his famous smirk. Colin raised his hand.

"Yes", said Draco and looked in Colins direction.

"Rumours also said that you're going to fire people and hire new", Colin begun, but was soon interrupted by Draco.

"That might happen", Draco replied.

"So, you're going to fire people? People that you don't like perhaps?" Hermione snapped, he'd only been in the same room as her for five minutes and he already annoyed her more then he'd ever done before.

"Maybe, that depends on who the person is", he replied and smirked at her. "Any other rumours you've heard?" He asked and looked around in the room.

"I heard that you want to move the company to another town!" A witch named Brenda Miller, who was working at the sports section, said.

"Partly true", Draco said. "I wanna move the company, but not to another town", he continued.

"Why? This place has been the Daily Prophets since the very beginning", Hermione exclaimed. _What was he thinking! Coming here and change everything on his first day,_ she thought and felt like she was going to explode out of anger.

"That's exactly why I wanna move the company, we could all use a new and fresh place to work at, instead of this 200 year-old house", he replied and once again, smirked at Hermione. She felt like ripping his head off!

"I really think you all should get back to work now, we have a paper to run, I will walk around a little today checking that everything ok… If there are anymore questions we can take them later"

Hermione hurried out from the conference room as soon as he called the meeting off. She rushed through the corridors to her office. She was so glad to have her own office! She locked the door so that he wouldn't get in, then she sat down behind her desk and just glared at the papers in front of her. She turned my chair around to look out of the windows. Sure this house was very old, but it was beautiful and it had the most beautiful view over Diagon Alley.

"Knock, knock", a voice behind her said. Hermione slowly turned the chair around again, she had my feeling of who it was, and she was absolutely right. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you after the meeting", Draco said.

"You said it yourself, we have a paper to run, I didn't have any time for you", Hermione snapped. "I think I know why you're here, to fire me! I'll pack my stuff"

"Why do you think I'll fire you?" Asked Draco and looked rather satisfied about Hermione being really annoyed of him.

"Because you said you were going to fire people you didn't like"

"Granger, believe me if I really were going to fire people I don't like you would be the first one I'd say good bye to", he replied and Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "But you are indeed one of the best journalists at this paper so firing you isn't an option"

"How do you know that I'm 'one of the best', you've only been here for 30 minutes?"

"I read the paper you know", he said and smirked at her. Once again she felt like ripping him in small, small pieces. "You and I need some sort of plan of how we can work together", he continued and dragged of his hands through his blond hair.

"At first you can learn how to knock, how did you get in by the way? I locked the door"

"That's a secret of mine", he replied. "Let's just say that I can step by when you least expect it, so you better do what you're supposed to do"

"Who do you think you are Malfoy? Coming here thinking that you can change everything that is already so perfect", she exclaimed and felt that her cheeks were getting warmer. And not only warm, they got pretty red too, they usually became red when she was really angry.

"I'm your boss Granger, whether you like it or not", he sneered. "I'm not saying that you have to become my best friend in the whole wide world, but I would appreciate if you at least could try to collaborate"

"I can always try", she replied and once again rolled her eyes at him. He responded with his oh so annoying smirk, and then with a snap of his fingers he was gone.

A day at work had never felt so long before, Hermione couldn't at all concentrate on her article about two boys who had broken into Zonkos in Hogsmeade. All she thought about was how annoying Draco and his stupid smirk were. Finally the clock turned 4 and she left the Daily Prophet to pick up her daughter at day-care. On the way out she bumped straight into a woman with long dark brown hair. She was dressed in a short jeans skirt, a red cardigan (that looked awfully expensive) and high heeled shoes.

"I'm so sorry", Hermione said and looked up at the woman.

"Oh, it's ok", she said and Hermione recognized her voice. "Do you work here?" The woman asked.

"Yes", Hermione replied.

"Awesome, I'm here to see my fiancé, do you know where I can find him?" She asked and smiled brightly at Hermione. She looked really beautiful, like a model, everything about her was just stunning.

"Who's your fiancé?" Hermione asked and smiled back at her.

"Oh stupid me, we've never met before, it's Draco", she replied. "Draco Malfoy"

It was the way the woman said 'Malfoy' that made Hermione understand who she was talking to, it was Pansy Parkinson. Dracos girlfriend since forever. Hermione had not seen her since they both graduated from Hogwarts, and that was almost six years ago, no wonder that they did not recognize each other at first. They had both changed a lot.

"Er… It's down the hall and to the left", Hermione begun but stopped explaining when she saw that Draco walked up behind Pansy.

"Hey baby", Draco whispered and hugged her from behind.

"Oh, there you are, am I too early?"

"No", he replied and turned her around and kissed her passionately. Hermione sighed, she knew he was doing that just to annoy her. She turned around and was just about to walk out of the door when Draco called her name:

"Granger!"

Slowly Hermione turned around again and faced him, she tried hard not to look too furious.

"Can you step by my office the first thing in the morning tomorrow, there's something we need to talk about", he said.

"What?"

"Just do as I say", he replied and smirked at Hermione. She turned and walked towards the door, hearing Pansy whispering about her.

"Granger? As in Hermione Granger? Mudblood Granger?"

"Yeah, that's her", Draco replied.

"And I was actually nice to her", exclaimed Pansy and sounded rather disgusted.

Hermione slammed the door behind her and started walking towards Diagon Alley where she was going to pick up Becky.


	3. A Bad Mother

Chapter three – A bad mother

When Hermione dropped Becky of at the muggle day-care centre the next morning she met Ginny, who was taking a walk with James.

"Hey Hermione, Becky", Ginny said and smiled brightly.

"Hey Gin, and hi James", Hermione replied and looked at the little boy who looked so much like Harry. "I'm sorry but I don't really have time to talk now, we're already a little late", Hermione replied.

"Did your mother over sleep once again?" Ginny asked and looked at Becky.

"Yes, she's so lazy"

"Thanks Becky, let's get inside now", Hermione said as Ginny burst out laughing. "By the way Gin, can we eat lunch together today? We have to talk"

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do", Ginny said. "The Leaky Cauldron, 1 o'clock?"

"Perfect, see you then", Hermione replied and opened the gate to the day-care.

"What do we need to talk about?" Ginny called after them.

"My new boss", Hermione called over her shoulder as they approached to the house. She opened the door and Becky ran inside, Hermione looked at Ginny and said: "You have no idea who it is!"

"Tell me!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I will, at lunch", Hermione said and smiled at Ginny before she went inside the house. One of the ladies, Emily McFadden, who worked at the day-care came up to Hermione and pulled her aside.

"When you pick up Rebecca today, we need to have a little talk, if you've got time…" She whispered.

"Sure" Hermione replied and didn't really understand what Emily was talking about because she was too busy thinking about that she already was 15 minutes late to work, and her meeting with Draco.

"Alright, I'll see you later then", Emily said and smiled a weird smile at Hermione.

"Ok", Hermione mumbled. "Becky, come here", she continued and turned to look at her daughter. Becky ran up to her and Hermione lifted her up in her arms. "I love you honey"

"I love you to mummy"

When Hermione arrived to the Daily Prophet she bumped in to Colin Creevey in the door.

"You better hurry Hermione", Colin said. "He's been asking for you"

"Thanks Colin", Hermione sighed before he walked out the door and she walked towards Dracos office. She took a deep breath before knocking at the door. The door flung open and she stepped in.

"You're 43 minutes late Granger", Draco snapped. "What's your explanation?"

"I…" Hermione begun. "My daughter, she…"

"That's not good enough", he interrupted. "But I won't fire you this time", he continued.

"Thanks", she snapped and rolled her eyes, then she sat down at a chair in front of his desk.

"Mind your attitude"

"That came from the right person", Hermione said but regret it at once. It felt like she was back at Hogwarts again, same old quarrels with Draco. _We're not at Hogwarts anymore, we're 24 years old, I have to act more mature_, she thought to herself. Silence broke out in the room. Draco looked out of the windows and Hermione looked straight at him. She noticed that his eyes really wasn't grey, like everybody always said, they were blue.

"No, um, we should get back to business", he said and looked at Hermione again. "What are you staring at?"

"Isn't that obvious? You!" Hermione replied without taking her eyes of him. He smirked and looked deep into her hazel eyes. That's when he noticed something that he recognized, in her eyes he saw a combination of emptiness and fear, and he'd only seen that in once other person's eyes before… That person was himself… "Oh, well, thanks I think", he mumbled.

"Your …er… welcome", Hermione said. He smiled at her, nope you read it right, he really smiled at her. It was an honest and real smile, not one of his famous smirks.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked and felt comfortable for actually having a normal conversation with him, maybe they could get along after all.

"I want you to write an article about the new boss at the Daily Prophet"

"Oh ok", she replied. _The boss at the Daily Prophet, wait a minute that's…_ "You want me to write about you?"

"Exactly"

"Eh, no, I don't think so", Hermione said and rolled her eyes. So much for their 'normal conversation', he was still the egoistic spoiled brat he'd always been.

"There's gotta be an article about me in the paper tomorrow, because everybody wants to know who the new owner of the Prophet is", Draco said and rose from his chair, he walked towards his big windows and stopped there. With his back against Hermione he said: "There's no one else but you that I want to write this article", he turned around and looked at her again. "You really have no choice, I want this article done by tonight, 8 pm, is that clear?"

"Yes sir", Hermione snapped and glared at him with anger. And there it was again, the smirk.

"We're done now", he sneered. "Get back to work"

She started to write the article about Draco as soon as she got back to her office.

_Draco Malfoy is an evil bitch who thinks he can tell everybody what to do and… _

She stopped writing, crumpled the paper and threw it in the wastepaper basket.

_The new owner of the Daily Prophet is Draco Malfoy. He is only 24 years old but already such an arrogant and egoistic jerk who thinks he … I hate him, everybody here hates him!_

Once again Hermione crumpled the paper and threw it away, this time she missed the basket. That made her even more upset. She didn't at all know what to write. Draco trusted her to write something really good, but she couldn't think of anything good to write about him. Were she supposed to make things up and say that he was the best thing that's ever happened to the Daily Prophet?

_Ok Hermione, think positive thoughts, he trusts you, he thinks you're one of the best writers around here, you can do it_, she tried to convince herself and it actually helped. When it was time for Hermione to go to the Leaky Cauldron and eat lunch with Ginny she had finished half the article.

"Mione, you've gotta tell me about your new boss! How old is he? Is he married? Is he hot?" Ginny asked. "Maybe you can date him?"

"He's 24"

"So are you, good start!" Ginny replied and took a bite of her fried chicken.

"He's engaged"

"Oh", Ginny sighed. "But he's only engaged, that means you still have a chance to steal him before the wedding, now tell me is he good looking?"

_Good looking – Draco Malfoy_? Hermione had never thought about that before. She pictured him in her mind and yes… When she thought about it, he didn't look too bad.  
"Yes, he is", Hermione answered and that made Ginny smile. "And his name is Draco Malfoy", Hermione continued and Ginnys smile slowly faded away.

"Is HE your new boss?"

"Unfortunately"

"Dear Merlin, this can't be good", Ginny mumbled and both of them burst out laughing.

"We actually held our first normal conversation today"

"Oh, really? He's normal?"

"Yeah, until he asked me to write an article about him for tomorrows paper, he's so egoistic", Hermione said and her thoughts wandered away to his blue eyes. "An arrogant, spoiled, petty, evil, snotty jerk… That's what he is"

"That sounds like out Draco", Ginny replied and they both laughed again.

When Hermione got back to work after her lunch she finished the article in no time, she read it twice and felt satisfied. Then she walked up to Dracos office, knocked the door, it flung open so she stepped in and found Draco and Pansy, making out. She was sitting on his desk with her legs wrapped around Dracos waist. As soon as he heard the door he pulled away and turned to Hermione.

"Knock, knock", she said and now finally it was her turn to smirk at him. "So this is what our beloved boss is doing when the doors are closed and he thinks no one can see him", she continued still with a smirk on her lips. Finally she had the power to make him feel uncomfortable. Pansy jumped down from the desk and started to button her shirt.

"What do you want Granger?" Draco snapped, but not in the same evil tone as usual, he actually sounded embarrassed.

"I was going to give you the article", she replied. "But I might wanna change it now when I know what you're really doing in here"

"Just give it to me", he said and pulled the papers away from her. "If it's good enough you'll read it in the paper tomorrow, if it sucks you can consider yourself fired", he continued. "You can go home now!"

She was in an awfully good mood when she arrived to the day-care to pick up Becky. Emily, the day-care lady, came up to her when she stepped into the house and said:

"Let's go to my room"

At first Hermione really didn't understand why, but then she remembered that Emily wanted to talk about something with her.

"It's about Rebecca", Emily said quietly as they both sat down.

"Um, ok, tell me" Said Hermione and felt worried because of the look on Emily's face, it looked like she had something very important to say.

"I don't know how much she has told you already, but we have noticed the other kids are teasing her", Emily explained. It felt like Hermiones heart stopped beating, _not my little baby_, she thought.

"She's not told me anything about it…" Hermione replied.

"Oh", Emily sighed. "It's hard being a young parent", she continued and looked down at her feet.

"Are you saying that I'm a bad parent?" Asked Hermione and looked rather confused.

"No, or… maybe", Emily said. "Becky doesn't seem to wanna share important things with you, something must be wrong"


	4. The Nightmare

Chapter four – The Nightmare

A sudden knock at the door woke Hermione up; she looked at the watch beside her bed. 3 am, who was it that was knocking at the door this time at the day? I knocked again, and again, and again. She got up from the bed, put on her morning robe and went to open. When she reached the hall she heard voices outside the door.

"She's a bad mother; her kid doesn't dare talking to her"

"She's a lousy parent; I heard she abuses her poor daughter"

"See, that's why we have to take this kid away from her, we have to take Rebecca to a real family take can take care of her"

"Yes, that poor girl needs to grow up in a normal family, not with a mourning widow who does nothing but feeling bad for herself because she lost her man"

Hermione's heart started to beat harder and harder in the chest. The people outside the door were still knocking. Her eyes filled with tears, what was she supposed to do? They were going to take her precious baby away from her! They were going to take her only reason for still being alive away and there was nothing she could do about it. Or was it? She could always climb out the window with Becky and escape, and never ever return. That's what she had to do. The voices outside the door suddenly seemed to be speaking louder.

"She's a bad mother"

"She's done harming that poor child"

"We're going to take her"

That's when Becky stepped out in the hall; she looked awfully tired and wore her favourite pink pyjamas with hearts in silver on.

"Aren't you going to open the door mum?"

Hermione looked from Becky to the door then back at Becky again. She screamed, because Becky's face was now covered with bruises and blood.

"She abuses her daughter", a voice from outside the door yelled.

"No I don't", Hermione screamed. "I don't!"

"Mum, why don't you open the door?" Becky asked as blood dripped from her mouth.

"Open the door; we know you're in there!" A firm male voice screamed. Tears started to roll down Hermione's cheeks. She lifted Becky up in her arms and then she ran to the living room and out to the balcony. They lived on the third floor but today it seemed like they were much higher up then usually. She looked out over the railing to see if she could jump, then she lost the grip of Becky.

"Nooooooooo" Hermione screamed as she saw Becky fall towards the ground. "Becky!"

"Mummy, mummy, wake up"

Hermione opened her eyes and saw the red hair of her daughter in front of her. She rubbed her eyes and opened them again, to her big relief Becky didn't have any bruises at all and there was no blood coming from her mouth.

"I think you had a nightmare mum"

Hermione sat up in the bed and noticed that she was all sweaty.

"I'm here now mum, no monsters will come and eat you now, I will save you", Becky said and climbed up on the bed and kissed her mother on the forehead. "I love you"

"Aw, honey, mummy loves you to", Hermione whispered and wrapped her arms around her little daughter. She felt the tears burn under her eyelids. "You know you can always talk to me, right?"

"Yes"

"About anything"

"Yes"

"Why haven't you told mummy about the other kids at day-care? Emily said they're teasing you", Hermione said and looked deep into Becky's eyes.

"Because you're sad"

"Mummy's not sad honey"

"I hear you crying when you go to sleep", Becky said. It felt like someone stuck a knife into Hermione's heart, she couldn't believe that Becky had heard that…

"But Becky, you can still talk to me", Hermione whispered and felt a single tear roll down her cheek. I really am a bad mother…

"I don't want you to be sadder"

"I'll just be happier if you talk to me", Hermione replied and brushed some hair from Becky's face. "Promise me, that from now on you'll tell me everything, ok?"

"Ok", she said and smiled at Hermione.

"Even though I might be sad I want you to know that I'm always here for you, if you need to tell me something or if you just need someone to hug", Hermione said. "I love you more then everything in the whole wide world, you're the best thing that's every happened to me"

A sudden knock at the door made Hermione's heart jump, was her dream coming true?

"I can open", Becky exclaimed happily and climbed down from the bed and ran to the door. Hermione got up quickly, put her morning robe on and hurried out to the hall. She could finally breathe again when she saw her own mother standing there with Becky in her arms.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" Her mother asked.

"I over slept", Hermione mumbled and remembered that today was the day she'd promised to eat breakfast with her mum. "Oh, no, I totally forgot about the breakfast thing, sorry"

"Breakfast thing?" Lydia Granger repeated. "We've planned this for weeks Herms"

"Please don't call me Herms"

"But I've always called you Herms"

"I know, but please, stop", Hermione exclaimed. "I don't feel very well mum, take Becky out for breakfast and then please take her to day-care"

"Of course", Lydia replied and let Becky down to the floor. "Go get your bag", she continued and Becky did as her grandmother said. While she was gone Lydia walked up to Hermione and carefully put a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong Hermione?"

"I think I'm getting sick", Hermione lied.

"Oh, then it's probably best if we take this breakfast 'thing' another day, I'll take care of Becky, don't you worry", Lydia said. "You just stay home and rest"

"Thanks mum", Hermione whispered as Becky came back to the hall with her bag. She put on her shoes and jacket, gave her mother a goodbye kiss before she took of with her grandmother. As soon as Hermione locked the door behind them she burst into tears. She sat down on the floor with her back against the door, she cried and cried for what seemed to be eternity. The tears never seemed to end.

"Oh Ron, I really need you right now", she sobbed. "I'm a bad mother"

"Everything would have been so different if you'd been here right now", she continued. "Why did you have to leave me?" She screamed and even more tears fell from her eyes. Then she heard someone tap at the window in the kitchen, she rose from the floor to see what or who it was. It was an owl that came with today's post; the Daily Prophet and a couple of bills.

She dried her tears and looked at the front page and saw a big picture of Draco and the headline said: "Draco Malfoy; New owner of the Prophet"

"At least I still go my job", she mumbled and read true the article. It was perfectly written; at least she was good at something. That's when her eyes stopped at the last part of the article. She had to read it four times…

_Writer of the article: Pansy Parkinson_

A shower of anger rushed through Hermione she threw away the paper and rushed to her bedroom to get dressed. She didn't care about her hair or make-up, and she didn't pay much attention on what clothes she put on. She went in to the living room and the fireplace; she was going to floo to the Daily Prophets headquarters.

Before she rushed into Draco Malfoys office, without knocking, she grabbed one of today's papers from Brenda Millers desk.

"What the hell is this?" She screamed and threw the paper on his desk.

"That is the Daily Prophet", he replied and smirked at Hermione. She was on the verge of actually ripping his head of, but instead she grabbed hold of the paper again.

"I know that you idiot! But what they fuck is this?" She pointed at the article about him.

"That's the article you wrote about me", he replied and looked slightly confused. "What's up with you today?"

"What's up with me? What the hell is up with you?" She yelled.

"Granger", he begun and noticed that people outside his office started to take interest in what was going on in there, with a wave of his wand the door closed. "I don't really understand what you are yelling about"

"No? Have you read the article?"

"Of course I have, it's brilliant"

"Have you read who wrote it?"

"Don't be silly Herm… Granger, I know you wrote it"

"Read who wrote it!" She shouted and threw the paper at his chest. He looked Hermione in away that made him look like she frightened him. Once he read who wrote the article, he understood why she was so angry.

"Can you explain that?" She yelled. "Did you think the article was too good to be written by me, and you just had to give it to your perfect wife?"

"She's not my wife, and I did not give it to her", he said with a firm voice. "She must have changed the name…" He mumbled and remembered how Pansy had asked to read the article the day before. She must have changed Hermione's name to her own.

"Sure, blame it all on your wife"

"She's not my wife!" Draco exclaimed.

"Do you know what Malfoy? I quit!" Hermione yelled. "I thought I could handle being around you but if this is how you're going to treat I can't stand it!" She continued and rushed out from his office, past all her co workers and out from the Prophet. With tears burning in her eyes she walked fast through Diagon Alley towards her flat. When she came inside the door she immediately broke out in tears.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" She sobbed and covered her face with her hands…


	5. A 100 Roses

**Chapter five – A 100 Roses**

Three days went by really fast and Becky were going to spend the weekend with her grandmother, Molly, in the burrow and Hermione were going to be alone all weekend. Molly came by around 5 pm at Friday afternoon.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Mrs Weasley asked when she waited for Becky to get dressed.

"I've been sick all week so I'm just tired", Hermione lied.

"Oh, ok, I hope this will make you feel better", Molly said and gave Hermione a basket. "I brought you some freshly squeezed pumpkin juice and apple pie", she continued and stroke one of her hands over Hermiones cheek.

"Thank you Molly"

"I'm ready to go now", said Becky who just stepped out in the hall. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with a silver pony on, jeans and hair red was tied back in a ponytail. She looked as pretty as usual. She loved those colours, silver and pink, or as she called them 'the princess colours'.  
Hermione smiled at her and lifted her up to give her a big hug.

"I love you baby", she whispered and kissed Becky on the tip of her nose. Becky giggled and hug her mother tightly. "I love you to mum"

The two of them had done a lot of talking during the last three days, about the kids who were teasing Becky. Becky had explained to her mother that when they teased her for her red hair and when they were mean to her she became so angry that her ears turned red, and then they teased her even more. One time when she was so very angry at one boy, Dean Cohen, his teeth suddenly had fallen out from his mouth. No one could explain what had happened… But Hermione knew the reason why, Becky was a witch and her powers were developing inside of her. That's why Hermione made the decision to take Becky to a day-care for wizards and witches instead, the same as James went to. It would be her first day on Monday. Hermione felt really stupid for not taking her to that day-care at once, but she wanted Becky to learn things the muggle way too…Like she once did.

"Hermione, I expect you to stay for dinner when you pick Becky up on Sunday", Molly said and smiled brightly at Hermione. "I would be really happy if you did, and I think Crookshanks will be too"

"Of course I'll stay", Hermione replied and smiled back at Molly.

"Bye mummy", Becky said as she grabbed her grandmothers' hand and they walked out the door.

"Bye honey, tell Crookshanks that I'm coming on Sunday", Hermione said and smiled again when she thought about Crookshanks. When Mrs Weasley lost her husband and two of her sons in the war she was devastated, and when Ginny was the last Weasley child to move out from the burrow Hermione had given Molly Crookshanks. So that she wouldn't be too lonely.

As soon as Hermione knew that Mrs Weasley and Becky had left the building she broke down in tears. It felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces as she stepped into the kitchen and reached for the phone. She dialled Ginny and Harry's number. She needed to speak with Ginny, she needed to speak with anyone. She could not hold everything inside anymore, three days had been long enough.

"Ginny Weasley", Ginny had finally picked up the phone. It was always Ginny who picked up the phone in Harry and Ginny's place nowadays. Since Hermione and Harry had taught her how to use the phone she used it all the time.

"Hi, Ginny, it's me", Hermione sobbed.

"Mione, honey, are you ok?" Asked Ginny.

"No", Hermione replied and dried a couple of tears.

"Are you crying?"

"Gin, I need to talk"

"Aw honey, what's happened?" Asked Ginny and sounded very worried.

"Not only am I a bad mother, I'm a lousy writer too"

"What are you talking about Mione? None of that is true!" Ginny exclaimed.

"But Emily said I'm a bad parent and then Draco, and he… I'm…" Hermione sobbed hysterically.

"What has Draco done to you?" Ginny asked with a tone of anger in her voice. "Did he tell you that you're a bad mother? I swear Mione, if he did I'm gonna rip his head off!"

"Emily said that"

"Who the heck is Emily?"

"She works at Becky's day-care"

"And she says you are-"

"Ginny, can you please come over? I really, really need to talk!" Hermione interrupted.

"Of course, I just have to tell Harry to… Can you hold a second?"

"HARRY!" Ginny screamed, it took a minute or two before Hermione, through the phone, could hear Harry's answer.

"Why are you screaming?" He asked. "You scared me, I thought something had happened"

"Take James to day-care"

"You're supposed to do that today!" Harry said, and Hermione could hear by the tone of his voice that he was really tired. "You know I worked late yesterday"

"Yes I know, but since you're awake now you might as well take a walk with your son, drop him off at day-care and then go home and sleep the rest of the day!"

"No, it's your turn-"

"Stop!" Ginny interrupted. "Hermione needs to see me now"

"Why can't she wait?"

"Listen carefully Harry, in this case you have no choice, take your son to day-care so that I can go and see my friend who is the need of talking", Ginny yelled. Hermione felt bad for listening to their conversation but they were speaking so loud that she couldn't help hearing every word they said. She also felt bad for being the reason for their quarrel. "Go get dressed now! You can't go out in boxers!" Ginny said, now in a more nice tone.

"Hermione, are you there?" Ginny shouted in the phone.

"Yes, you don't need to scream"

"Oh, sorry", she said. "I'm coming over, just going to make sure that James ate his breakfast"

"Ok"

"See you"

Hermione hung up the phone and sat down at of the chairs in the kitchen, she had stopped crying by now, right now all she felt was just emptiness. She reached for one of the letters that she'd got from Draco the past three days, she had not open a single one of the letters yet… She had absolutely no intensions of returning to the Daily Prophet or forgiving him for what he did with her article! It took 20 minutes before Ginny turned up in the fireplace.

"Hermione, honey!" She exclaimed and gave her best friend a long and warm hug. That's when Hermione burst out in tears again. "What the hell has he done to you?"

"It's not just him Gin", Hermione sobbed.

"Talk to me", Ginny said and sat down at the chair next to Hermione, holding Hermiones hands in her own.

"I quit my job!"

"You did what!" Ginny exclaimed. "You love your job!"

"Yes, but I hate being around him"

"And by him you mean Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes, you know that article that was published about him three days ago?"

"The one that Pansy 'Stalkerson' wrote?"

"The thing is… I wrote that article! She, and Draco, just put her name on it!"

"I understand why you're so upset"

"Yeah, but that's not the only reason", Hermione stuttered and dried a couple of her tears.

"I'm listening"

"It's not that I don't miss Ron, because you know I do, but it's like I can't get him out of my mind even though I want to", Hermione explained as the tears continued to fall down her cheeks. "It's like he is haunting me, I can't do nothing without thinking about him and I can't even look at another boy without feel like I'm cheating on him", she continued.

"Maybe you can start by taking of the engagement ring!" Ginny said at glanced at the golden ring on Hermiones finger.

"See what I mean?" Hermione replied and looked at her hands. The golden ring that she had been wearing for the past five years felt like a part of her, and even if she wanted to take it off it still felt empty when she did. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm gonna have to live alone for the rest of my life, yes I have Becky, but I mean… You know what I mean? I don't think I'll ever be able to find a new Mr Right!"

"Of course you will", Ginny said and tried to comfort her. "When you least expect it, he will be knocking on your door and ask for a piece of apple pie", Ginny said and looked at the basket with pumpkin juice and apple pie that Hermione had got from Mrs Weasley. Hermione couldn't help smiling for a while, Ginny always knew how to make her smile. "But on the phone you talked about some Emily lady who said you were a bad mother, what's that about?" Ginny asked after a while.

"The other kids are teasing Becky and she never told me about it, Emily said that it was because I am so young that Becky doesn't want to speak with me…" Hermione said. "But I talked with Becky after my conversation with Emily, I found out the reason why she didn't told me in the first place and we solved the problem"

"That's great, but why were they teasing her?"

"Because of her red hair, and her red ears when she goes angry", Hermione replied. "So that's why I'm taking Becky to the same day-care as James instead", she explained. "She starts on Monday!"

"That's great, James is gonna love that! By the way, where's Becky today?"

"Your mother"

"Oh, yeah, of course, stupid me! I remember mum told me about it yesterday, oh, mum really loves having her there"

"And Becky loves being there to, she loves the burrow", Hermione said and smiled when she thought about her precious little Becky. Ginny was just about to open her mouth and say something when it knocked on the door.

"I better get that", Hermione said quietly and rose from her chair and went to open the door. Outside there was a boy, about 15 years old, dressed in a red suit holding a big bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Are you Hermione Granger?" The boy asked.

"Yes"

"These 100 roses are for you", he said and handed the bouquet over to Hermione. He smiled at her before he closed the door, Hermione walked back into the kitchen again.

"Um, somebody just sent me 100 red roses", she said and put the flowers on the table. Both her and Ginny started to look for a card. Ginny found it and read it out loud:

_Hermione, I don't know if you got my seven letters, but please I'm asking you to come back. What happened with your article was a terrible mistake and it will never happen again! The Daily Prophet can't afford to lose a great writer like you. Hope to see you at work on Monday. x Draco._


	6. Apple Pie and Pumpkin Juice

**Authors Note:** Hey there! Glad you're still reading my story, lol, in this chapter I want you to remember a thing that Ginny said in the last chapter (she and Hermione was talking about if Hermione ever would find 'Mr Right') and this is what Ginny said: _"Of course you will", Ginny said and tried to comfort her. "When you least expect it, he will be knocking on your door and ask for a piece of apple pie"_  
Keep that in mind, and enjoy your reading. :) / Kim.

**Chapter six – Apple Pie and Pumpkin Juice  
**

The next day Hermione went into the kitchen and picked up yesterdays number of the Daily Prophet which she hadn't read. _Maybe there's some job ads today_, she thought. She was just about to turn to the second page when someone knocked at the door. _I wonder who that can be? It's probably Ginny, before she left yesterday she said she'd drop by tomorrow_, Hermione thought to herself and went to open.

"Malfoy?" She snapped and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk", he said and stepped into the hall. Hermione gasped, how dare he just stepping in like that, without asking first! "Can I come in?" He asked. Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he was so Dracoish. 

_Dracoish? Where the hell did I get that from?_ She asked herself as she watched him take his shoes off.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"It's not polite to walk in with your shoes on", he replied.

"And it's not polite to walk in without any permission at all!" Hermione snapped.

"Do I smell apple pie?" He asked with an annoying grin on his lips. "I didn't know you could cook"

"What do you want from me?"

"I would like some apple pie", he replied and smiled at her. Not a smirk or an annoying grin, it was an honest and trustworthy smile. His blue eyes sparkled like when the sun reflects in the ocean, which caused Hermione to shiver. "And I would like to apologize about what happened with your article"  
Hermione rolled her eyes, sparkling eyes or not, she wasn't going to forgive him that easy...

"Let me tell you about what happened, it's kind of embarrassing", Draco said and laughed a little bit.

"I'm listening", she replied and waited for him to say something.

"I'd rather tell you over a piece of apple pie", he sneered.

"You are unbelievable"

"I know", he said and seemed to take it as a compliment. "Don't tell me that you're not going to offer your boss some of your delicious pie?"

"May I remind you that you're not my boss anymore, I quit four days ago, remember?"

"You can't just say 'I quit', there's a lot of papers to sign", he said with a smirk on his lips.

"What papers?"

"Papers that say that you're not working for the Prophet anymore", he sneered. "And I won't give you any papers unless you'll offer me some apple pie!"

"Alright, alright, you'll get your stupid pie", Hermione sighed and they went into the kitchen. Hermione made the table for two and then put the apple pie in the middle of the table.

"I see you liked the roses", he said. Hermione had shared the roses she got the day before into 5 different bouquets and then she had placed them in vases around the apartment.

"They're ok", she mumbled. "I prefer white roses though"

"I'll remember that for the next time I feel like sending you roses"

"Do you like pumpkin juice?" She asked.

"Are you kidding? I love pumpkin juice", he replied with a smile on his lips. "Can I help you with anything by the way?"

"No it's ok", Hermione replied and suddenly felt really comfortable around him. He was like a totally different person. It was the way he talked that had changed, he now spoke in a more friendly tone. She smiled at him as she poured up some juice in his glass, then she remembered that she was angry at him. _I am not going to forgive him this easy,_ she thought and wiped that smile away as she poured up juice for herself.

"You've got your pie, now tell me!" Hermione snapped as she sat down.

"Yeah, it's kind of embarrassing as I said before, when you left the article at my office I read it at once, and I thought it was bloody brilliant", he said and smiled at Hermione, but she just couldn't smile back, he used the word 'bloody', Ron often used that word. Hermione felt a shower of pain rushing trough her body when she thought about Ron. _Do not enjoy other men's company_, she thought. "When I finished reading it Pansy asked if she could read it so I gave it to her, and she said she loved it and that she could take it to the print room, that's when she changed your name to hers"

"Ok", Hermione sighed.

"When you burst into my office four days ago and I noticed that the article said her name I went really mad and I yelled at her like never before", he explained. "She felt really bad and told me she did it just because she was jealous, and do you know why she was jealous?" He asked and raised an eyebrow, Hermione shook her head. "She thought there was something going on between you and me!" Draco continued and burst out laughing.

"You and me?" Hermione repeated and suddenly the thoughts about Ron were gone. She laughed as well, that was just crazy. _Me and Draco, that's hilarious! _  
He noticed that yesterday's paper was lying on the table, he took it and turned to page 14 where he pointed at one small article.

"I mad her write this"  
Hermione took the paper and started to read.

_The article that was published two days ago about the new boss of the Daily Prophet, Draco Malfoy, was not written by me (Pansy Parkinson). It was written by one of the most talented journalists that works here, and that is Miss Hermione Granger. I, Pansy, don't even work here, I just put my name on the article because I was jealous of Miss Granger. I would like to apologize to all the readers and to Miss Granger herself, this will never happen again.  
_  
Hermione couldn't help smiling, she looked up at Draco who was smiling back at her.

"Did you like it?" He asked.

"Yes, I did", she replied. "Thank you", she whispered and took a sip of her juice.

"I've actually asked Pansy not to come and see me at the office anymore", he said and took another bite of his apple pie. "It seems every time she's there something embarrassing happens", he continued and smiled. Hermione laughed and his smile grew even wider when he noticed that what he said made her laugh.

"Am I forgiven?" Asked Draco and took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"I'm not sure", Hermione replied.

"I'm not going to beg on my knees, you're not that good", he sneered and gave Hermione a wink.

_Wait a minute, is he flirting with me?_ She thought and watched him as he ate the piece that was left of his apple pie. He licked his lips and looked up, straight into Hermiones hazel eyes. Both of them looked away at the same time.

"I expect to see you at work on Monday", said Draco and looked at his watch.

"Maybe"

"Come on Hermione", he begged. "I want you"

"Say that again", Hermione sneered. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I want you to come back", he said then he rose from his chair and went down on one knee in front of Hermione, just like he was going to propose to her. "See, I'm begging on my knees know, please, come back", he said and tried to look as desperate as possible. Hermione burst out laughing and so did Draco.

"I think I will", she replied. He took her left hand in his and pressed his soft lips against it. Hermione immediately pulled away her hand. "What was that for?" She asked.

"Welcome back", he said and gave her yet another wink, and then he stood up. "Unfortunately I have to go now, but I'll see you on Monday", he continued. He stopped in the kitchen door and slowly turned around. Hermione was like petrified after the kiss, he just smirked at her before he left. She did not move until she heard the door slam. She looked at the hand he had kissed.

As she thought about the kiss she got shivers up and down her spine, now she almost regretted that she had pulled away her hand. _His lips were so soft_, she thought and remembered the ticklish feeling she felt when his lips touched her hand.

_I wonder what his lips would taste like, probably like sugar and spice at the same time! And I can only just imagine how that ticklish feeling I got when he kissed my hand would feel if he kissed my lips instead, that would probably be amazing! And oh, I would defiantly want his warm hands to explore every inch of my body… And… Oh my god what am I thinking! _

She quickly rose from her chair and looked around for someone that could be there to read her mind. She reminded herself that she was all alone and sat down again to finish her apple pie, and then the thoughts of Draco came back into her mind again.

"I seriously have to stop think about him", she said quietly to herself. Suddenly someone was knocking at the door again. _What if it's him again!_ She thought and her heart started beating faster and faster as she walked towards the door. "Breathe Hermione", she said quietly to herself and opened the door.

"I'm back"

It felt like Hermiones heart started dancing around in her chest, it was Draco.

"Um, hi, did you forget something?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I forgot to say thanks for the pie", he said and smiled. "It was delicious"

"Your welcome", said Hermione and rolled her eyes, was that the reason why he came back?

"Ok, but that's not the only reason why I came back", he said with his famous smirk. "On Monday, I'm not gonna be this friendly to you, we're going back to normal because I don't want anyone, especially Pansy to suspect that there's something going on between us"

"You're saying that like there is something between us…" Hermione said and looked thoughtful.

"Isn't it? Don't you feel the love between us", he whispered and moved closer. Hermione almost stopped breathing, he was so close that she could feel his warm breath against her lips.

_Why am I suddenly so attracted to him? I have to stop thinking about him like that. He is my boss and we're supposed to have a professional relationship, nothing else, and by the way… He's engaged to Pansy, he loves Pansy, he wants to marry Pansy and live happily ever after with Pansy._ Hermione thought and pushed him away from her. _I hate Pansy!_

"See you on Monday", he laughed. Hermione understood that he was just teasing her but it still turned her on. Feelings inside of her that she had not felt since Ron was alive started to grow inside of her. She wanted to drag him into her bedroom, push him down on the bed and make love to him. He smirked at her before he turned around to walk down the stairs.

"I hate you", she whispered and watched him as he disappeared down the stairs. "That's right, I hate him", she told herself and closed the door. "Those feelings I felt before were fake, he just played with me, he wasn't serious… Just like my feelings, not serious! It's just because I miss Ron, I miss being close to someone, but him…", she said. "I would never want to make love to him… Or would I?" She gave it a thought before she shook her head. "No, never!"

The next morning Hermione woke up because the sunlight shined brightly at her through her windows. She yawned and looked at the empty side of her bed, the side that had been empty for five years expect the times Becky had been sleeping there. She remembered the dream she had just woke up from… A dream about her and some man, she'd been dreaming the same dream like a 100 times before. She had never seen his face in the dream so she didn't know who the man was, but she knew that she loved him very much and that he loved her just as much… So that why she had a feeling it could be Ron!

She got up from bed and went out in the kitchen where she started to prepare breakfast for herself. Once she was done she heard a tapping noise, she turned around and noticed an owl outside the window, Ginny's owl…

_Hey Mione,_

_Luna and I assumed that you have not found yourself a date yet, so we decided to help you out! _

_We've found Mr Perfect for you, his name is Brian Tanner, he is dead sexy (don't tell Harry I wrote that). He is 26 years old, lives in Dufftown. He was a Ravenclaw student in the same year as Fred & George. I don't know if you remember but he was the guy who was madly in love with Katie Bell in their seventh grade…_

_Oh well, you're going on a date with him tonight! Don't freak out! Luna, Neville, Harry and I are coming to. We'll meet at the Leaky Cauldron around 6, and remember… YOU HAVE NO CHOICE! You better be there, or Luna and I will hunt you down and drag you down town!_

_Love you, and see you tonight! _

_xx Ginny_


	7. Million Dollar Smile

**Chapter seven – Million Dollar Smile**

Hermione sighed, she was not in the mood to go on a date, especially with someone she didn't even know. _Oh well, I'm glad that Ginny, Harry, Luna and Neville are going to join us, it would have been embarrassing to go alone with that Brian guy_, she thought and tried to remember how Brian Tanner looked as she walked towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Ginny, Luna, I'm sorry but I'm not going on this date…"

"What are you talking about Mione? Of course you're going!" Luna exclaimed.

"Yes you are!" Ginny continued. "You're already here, you look gorgeous, Brian is coming any minute now so you can't change your mind"

"Well I think it's up to Hermione whether she wants to go on a date or not…" Harry said and gave Hermione a wink. Neville nodded his head in agreement.

"Ok Mione, it's your choice, do you want to go or not?" Luna asked and glared firmly at Neville.

"Too late, Brian's here"

Hermione turned around to face a tall man with dark brown hair and green eyes. Hermiones first thought was that he looked like a mixture of Harry and Neville.

"Hi, I'm Brian", he said and kissed Hermiones cheek.

"Um… Hermione", she replied and tried to smile. She didn't really understand why he was kissing her? They'd never even met before… He smiled back at her and she was almost blinded by his white smile. That's when Hermione recognized him but she couldn't really remember where she'd seen him before.

"Shall we go?" Ginny asked and grabbed Harry's arm.

"I thought we were going to eat here", Neville said.

"Neville, honey, we're eating here almost every week", Luna replied. "We're going some place fancy tonight", she continued. Brian burst out laughing and everybody turned to look at him.

"Ha-ha, that was just too funny, eating here", he laughed. "This place is for poor people", Brian continued. Hermione gasped. _What's wrong with him?_ She thought. _This place is lovely, and I'm eating here every now and then, I wonder if he's joking... I hope he is…_ Hermione looked over at Neville; his face had turned red and clenched his fists. Hermione knew that he took it badly because he and Luna didn't have so much money. Luna grabbed his hand to calm him down.

"Let's go!" Harry exclaimed. Everybody agreed and they all left the Leaky Cauldron. They started walking down Diagon Alley; none of them said a word until they reached one of the finest and most expensive restaurants in Diagon Alley, River View Garden.

"Now this is what I call a restaurant", Brian said and opened the door. Hermione gave Luna and Ginny a 'why did you set me up with this guy stare'.

"I bet he's not like this all the time", Luna whispered. "He's probably just nervous"

"He better be 'just nervous' or I'm going to punch him black and blue before this night is over!" Neville exclaimed.

"Oh no, no, no you won't", Luna said and gave him a firm look before they entered the

Five minutes later they were all seated around a table for six persons. Luna, Ginny and Hermione looked around, amazed by the dazzling beautiful restaurant. The walls and the ceiling were under a spell so it looked like the restaurant was outside. The sky above them was a beautiful night sky with bright stars shining over them, lighting up the whole restaurant. The walls showed a peaceful, and what seemed to be, an endless ocean, the sound of the waves could calm down anyone. A beautiful blond waitress came up to their table.

"Welcome to River View Garden, here's your menu's", she said and handed them all one menu each. "I'll be back to take your orders soon", she continued and smiled brightly at the company.

"Can you please bring us a bottle of your finest champagne to begin with", Brian asked the waitress.

"And a strawberry juice for me", Ginny exclaimed.

"I would like a strawberry juice too please", Luna said. Brian looked at them with wide open eyes; he thought it was weird of them not to accept the champagne he was offering. Hermione noticed the way he looked at them as the waitress left their table.

"They're pregnant you know", Hermione said without taking his eyes of Brian's chocked face. "It's not good for their babies if they drink alcohol"

"Of course", he mumbled. "I just felt stupid for not thinking about that myself", he continued and smiled again. That's when Hermione knew where she'd seen him before. In a magazine called 'What witches want', not that she ever read those stupid model magazines but she had passed them by in stores and seen his face on the cover.

As they ten minutes later were eating their food Brian started to tell them all about himself.

"When I graduated from Hogwarts I moved to Italy to kick off my modelling career, and everything went just fine… I got jobs in Paris, New York, Japan, Brazil… Everywhere!" He explained with a bright smile on his lips. "Everybody wanted me, and yeah… Not to brag or anything, but they all still want to have a piece of me"

Harry and Neville looked like they were going to throw up.

"So, Harry", Hermione said. "How are thing going at work?"

Harry was just about to answer her question when Brian interrupted him.

"I just love working as a model, it's so much fun… I could never imagine myself working as anything else!" Brian said, still smiling of course. "As you can see I have the looks, the charm and the intelligence that a model today needs"

Hermione looked at Ginny and Luna with angry eyes. They both whispered "Sorry" Hermione could not believe that they had set her up with a selfish diva who talked about nothing but himself. She was just about to open her mouth to try to change the subject into something else…

"You don't need to say anything dear, I know you think I'm sexy", Brian said and smiled at Hermione.

Harry who was taking a sip of his fire whiskey spit it all out and started to cough. "I'll be right back", he mumbled and rose from his chair.

"Me to", Neville said and followed Harry to the men's bathroom. As soon as the door closed behind them everybody could clearly hear that they both burst out laughing. The girls looked at Brian to see if he got angry at Harry and Neville for laughing at him, but he didn't seem to care.

"When I did a photo shoot in Japan three months ago I met this crazy old man that wanted me to marry his daughter", Brian said and laughed.

"Speaking of daughters", Luna said. "I heard Becky is going to the same day-care as James at Monday, that's great!"

"You have a child?" Brian asked and suddenly seemed to be interested in someone but himself.

"Yes, I do", Hermione answered with a smile on her lips. "Her name is Rebecca, and she's five"

"I would never get a child right now, I think I'm way too young", Brian exclaimed. "I will wait until I'm at least 30, because I feel like a child right now would ruin my life", he continued. "I'm still young and I like to party, no one should get a child while they're young! That's my motto: 'Live your life before you get a child'…"

Ginny looked down at her round tummy before she looked over at Luna who was slowly stroking her hand over her tummy. Hermione saw the expressions on her friends' faces and was just about to tell Brian to shut up, but once again she was interrupted by him… Talking about… Yes, you are right, himself!

"Anyways, that crazy old man that wanted me to marry his daughter threatened to kill me if I didn't marry her"

"To bad he didn't", Luna whispered so that only Hermione could hear what she said. "I'm so sorry for hooking you up with that looser", she continued and looked at Brian who was babbling about some Egyptian princess that was madly in love with him. "He wasn't at all like this when we went to Hogwarts"

"I think I'll survive the night, I'm so glad you guys came along, I can only imagine sitting here alone with him…" Hermione replied, with a smile, in the same quiet tone as Luna. Brian didn't even notice that they were whispering to each other. Harry and Neville came back from the bathroom and sat down at their chairs again, you could clearly see on their faces that they had been laughing a lot.

Hermione smiled at them and took a sip of her wine. Then she looked towards the doors and saw two faces that she recognized. Draco Malfoy and his fiancé, Pansy Parkinson. Draco wore a black suit and a white shirt, no tie. The three buttons at the top of the shirt weren't buttoned. He looked really handsome. Pansy on the other hand looked like a slut. She wore the shortest black dress Hermione had ever seen, with a cleavage that reached her bellybutton.

"Oh, look who's here…" Ginny said and rolled her eyes when she saw the couple walking towards a table at the other side of the room. "That dress gives me all right in the world to call her Parkinslut"

"Who are you talking about?" Brian asked and turned his head around and saw Pansy and Draco. He quickly turned his head back, like he knew who Pansy was…

"Do you know her?" Asked Hermione.

"Er… No… I don't…" Brian mumbled.

"Yes you do", Ginny said and smirked at him. "I can see it in your eyes, how do you know her?" Everybody around the table was now looking at Brian who suddenly seemed really uncomfortable around them.

"Ok, ok, we did a modelling job together in Paris two years ago… We haven't met since then", he replied with one breath.

"Why don't you go over and say hi to her then?" Luna asked and was very eager to get rid of him for at least a minute or two.

"I bet she won't recognize me…"

"Who wouldn't recognize your million dollar smile", Harry said and rolled his eyes, Neville tried to hold his laughter. Luna, Ginny and Hermione giggled.

At the same time Pansy noticed that Brian was giving her another look. She quickly looked down at her feet.

"What's up?" Draco asked. "Who did you see?" He continued and looked in the same direction that Pansy was looking before and noticed Hermione Granger and her friends sitting around a table at the other side of the room, laughing. "Oh, isn't it Miss Granger", he said and smirked.

"Can we leave?" Pansy asked.

"We just got here Pansy and I'm hungry, we're defiantly not leaving!" He replied and started to look trough his menu.

"Waitress, can I have a BIG glass of fire whiskey?" Pansy asked and suddenly seemed all sweaty even though she barley had any clothes on. "Please hurry"

"I would like a glass of white wine, please", Draco said and smiled at the waitress who left to get their drinks. Draco turned to look at Pansy. "Why the heck are you acting so weird?"

"Me? Weird? What are you talking about Drakie?"

"Do not call me Drakie ever again", he said with a firm voice. "And I am not stupid, why are you acting like you've never been to a public restaurant before?" He asked but Pansy didn't seem to listen. "Is it because Hermione is here and you still feel bad about the article?" He asked.

"Er… sure…" She mumbled as the waitress came back with their drinks. Pansy took her glass of fire whiskey and started to drink immediately. Draco looked at her and felt embarrassed because of her behaviour. He took a sip of his wine and looked towards Hermione and noticed that she was looking at him to, that made him forget all about Pansy… He raised his glass and gave her a wink before he took another sip of the wine.

Hermione felt her heart beating faster when he looked at her, she didn't take her eyes off him until she heard someone say her name.

"Hermione?" She turned around and noticed that Brian was trying to talk to her. "Do you think this shirt makes me look fat?" He whispered so that only Hermione could hear.

"Excuse me?" Hermione exclaimed.

"I think maybe that's the reason why Harry and Neville were laughing before… Because I look fat!" He whispered.

"Are you kidding me?" Asked Hermione and tried to see if he was serious or not.

"So you don't think I look fat?" He asked and smiled. "Thanks"

_Oh, I wish he could just take that 'million dollar smile' and wipe his arse with it! It's even worse then Draco Malfoys most annoying smirk_, Hermione thought and wished that she was at home reading a good book. As Brian started to tell Harry and Neville about the time he was nearly eaten by a dragon while he did a photo shoot in Japan Hermione decided that it was time for her to visit the ladies bathroom.

Draco noticed that Hermione left the table; he watched her hips swing when she walked and thought she looked incredibly hot in her red dress. He felt a sudden need of teasing her; he wanted to make her annoyed... He loved it was she was annoyed and he loved it even more when he was the reason for her being annoyed... He made the decision to follow her and rose from his chair.

"I'll be right back", he told Pansy and the hurried into the men's bathroom from where he transferred himself into the ladies bathroom with a snap of his fingers.

Hermione who was looking at herself in the mirror almost got a heart attack when Draco Malfoy showed up from nowhere.

"You?" She exclaimed once she'd catch her breath. "This is the ladies bathroom", she snapped and turned around to look him in the eyes. He laughed. "It's not funny, get out!"

"No, I want to talk Granger"

"What do you want?" She snapped as he moved closer to her.

"I think you look extremely sexy in that dress", he said and licked his lips.

Hermione rolled her eyes. _Why? Why? Why? Does he have to tease me like this, I hate him!_

"But that's not what I wanted to say", he said and laughed at Hermiones facial expression. "Next week, on Thursday, you and I are going on a little trip, we'll be gone all weekend"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"It's the annual conference for witches and wizards who work as journalists", Draco replied. "I thought you might want to go…"

Hermione knew exactly which conference he was talking about, it was the conference every journalist in the magical world wanted to attend to. This year it took place in Venice, Italy, and yes Hermione badly wanted to go… But with him? She wasn't sure…

"What do you say?" He asked.

"I'll think about it", she snapped before leaving him in the ladies bathroom. She spent one more hour listening to Brian's endless talk before they all decided to go home. Brian offered to walk Hermione home, but she said that he absolutely didn't need to.

"Ok Hermione, it was nice meeting you, I hope we meet again soon", he said and smiled that million dollar smile before pressing his lips against Hermiones.


	8. Is it love?

**Chapter eight – Is it love?**

The next day when Hermione had dropped Becky of at her new day-care centre she got to work about 15 minutes too late. The entire staff was gathered in the conference room and she walked in a quiet as possible, not to get anyone's attention, but without any big success. Everybody turned to look at her, people started to whisper. Hermione sat down beside a woman that she'd never seen before and listened to Draco who yelled about something.

"The Daily Prophet is not a place for gossip; I do not appreciate you spreading stupid rumours about me and my fiancé"

"What's he yelling about?" Hermione asked the witch next to her.

"Someone has spread a rumour about him leaving his fiancé because she is cheating on him", the witch said and smirked, she handed Hermione one ex of that day's paper. "I'm Lynette Miller by the way, I'm new here", she continued and shook Hermiones hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Hermione Granger" Hermione said and smiled at the new employee.

"Hermione Granger eh?" Lynette said and raised an eyebrow. "I've read a lot of your article, you're brilliant"

"Aw, thank you"

"To make things clear, Pansy is not cheating on me, she never has and she never will", Draco said angrily.

Hermione looked up at Draco; she noticed the engagement ring on his finger. She really hated people who were spreading untrue rumours; there'd been a lot of those about Ron's death so she kind of understood how Draco felt right now.

"If I hear on more stupid rumour like this I'm going to fire everybody who's been talking about it", Draco said with an angry tone in his voice. "But there is some good news today as well, Lynette Miller just moved here from Ireland and she's going to work on the sports apartment", he continued in a more friendly tone and looked at Lynette. That's when he noticed that Hermione was sitting next to her.

"It's good to see that you're back again Granger", he said. "But please, try to be here in time!"

Hermione didn't say anything; she just smiled and nodded her head. Draco told everyone that the meeting was over and just as Hermione was about to walk out the door he said: "Granger, please stay, we've got to talk!"

"About what?"

"Have you made up your mind about the trip?" He asked and closed the door behind her with a snap of his wand.

"Yes, I'm going with you", Hermione replied, he smirked at her. "But tell me Draco", Hermione continued and looked up at him. "What does your fiancé think about you going away over the weekend with me?"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her…" He answered and smirked at Hermione. But his smirk quickly faded away when he looked into Hermiones hazel eyes.

"So you're not going to tell her?"

"Nope"

"Why?"

"Because she won't care", he replied and shrugged his shoulders.

"She's your fiancée, of course she cares", Hermione said.

"No, she won't… I know her, you don't!"

"She knows about all these rumours right? And she's mad at you", Hermione guessed.

"Yes, she's kind of mad, but that's because I believe in those rumours…"

"Wait a minute; say that again… you believe in them?" Asked Hermione and felt kind of confused, but then she remembered the stares that Brian and Pansy had given each other last Saturday. The pieces fell to place; they must have had an affair or something while they did a model job together…

"Yes, I think these rumours are true", he sighed.

"Do you know what, so do I know…" Hermione said. "Do you remember that guy Saturday night who was 'my date', well his name is Brian Tanner-"

"Brian Tanner? That bastard! You're dating him?"

"Oh no, no way!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ginny and Luna hooked me up with him; they said he was going to be my 'Mr Right' but him… Wait a minute, do you know him too?"

"Yeah, he did some modelling job with Pansy like two years ago and I walked in on them having sex"

"What?" Hermione gasped. "Why don't you throw her out?"

"That's none of your bloody business Granger", he replied. "Now let's talk about the trip, are you looking forward to it?" He asked.

"Um, yes", Hermione replied, she really couldn't stop thinking about what Draco had just told her. He knew that Pansy had been cheating on him, but he still wanted to be with her. _That just don't make any sense at all, _she thought.

"I'm looking forward to it too, I love Italy, have you ever been to Venice?" He asked.

"No", Hermione replied.

"You're gonna love it"

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know, I just have a feeling that you will", he replied and smiled at her.

"That sounds great", Hermione said with a smile and headed for the door. She thought about the conference. Finally, after four years of waiting and hard working, she was going to be there among all those famous writers and journalists. Draco smiled when he looked at her, he could clearly see that this meant a lot to her. _It's because of me she feels this happy, _he thought, _this must be the first time ever I've made her happy, it's to unlike me… I have to say something else, something that will annoy her!_

"Granger", he said before she was about to open the door. She turned around and looked at him, still smiling. "Bring your sexy red dress to Italy", he continued and then left the meeting room with a snap of his fingers.

"Bring that sexy red dress", Hermione snorted. "I'll bring and then I'll shove it down your throat", she mumbled angrily before she stepped out the door and started walking towards her office. But she couldn't really get Draco out of her mind, even though she tried. She both hated and enjoyed his compliment about the dress…

_He finds me sexy, or at least he finds my dress sexy. I'm going to bring all my sexy clothes on this trip and I'll show him what the word sexy really means! _Her thought brought another smile on her lips.

_No, I really shouldn't be thinking about him like this, he is my boss and we're going on a business trip. We're professional workers and nothing will ever happen between us, but he must like me a little after all he chose me over all the other people who work here. He chose me! Maybe I'll try to seduce him; I need some love even if it's just for the weekend… _ She was still smiling as she pictured herself alone with Draco in a beautiful hotel room.

_A view over the ocean, romantic music, bodies touching, candle lights, champagne, hot kisses…No! I can't do it, he's engaged to Pansy, but obviously she's been cheating on him so why can't he cheat on her? No, no, I really have to get this out of my mind!_

The same afternoon, when Hermione picked up Becky, she met Ginny who was there picking up James. Together they all went to the park to buy ice cream.

"How was your first day honey?" Hermione asked and watched Becky eat her ice cream.

"I was funny", she exclaimed.

"Becky, fly!" James shouted and started to jump up and down. "FLY! FLY! FLY!"

"James, calm down, you're gonna-", Ginny started but it was too late, his vanilla ice cream fell to the ground. "-drop you ice cream", she added quietly.

"Stupid ice cream", he said. "Becky, can we play quidditch?"

"Yaaaay", she shouted and they both started to run around, pretending that they were playing quidditch.

"I expected him to cry", Ginny said and looked at the splashed ice cream on the ground. "By the way Hermione, I heard the craziest rumour today about Pansy Parkinson and Brian Tanner!" Ginny added and burst out laughing.

"Rumours spread really quickly in this town…" Hermione said.

"So you've heard it too?" Ginny asked and giggled.

"They sure do", Hermione replied. "Do you know what the worst part is? Draco still wants to get married to her!"

"What's so bad about that? They deserve each other", Ginny said, still laughing.

"He doesn't deserve a wife that's been cheating on him, no one does", Hermione said.

"Come on Hermione, he's probably cheating on her as well…"

"I don't think so"

"Why?"

"Because… I don't know… I just think that he is a faithful husband", Hermione said, Ginny laughed even more. "Ginny!"

"Sorry Hermione, but Draco Malfoy a faithful husband, that's just hilarious!"

"Whatever", Hermione replied and rolled her eyes, it pissed her of that Ginny was laughing when she was serious. She looked at Becky who was running around in small circles and James was standing beside her, cheering.

"So what are you up to this weekend?" Ginny asked. "Luna and I want you to come over to Luna's place; we're going to have a girl's night, no kids, just us and a lot of gossip"

"I'm going to Venice over the weekend", Hermione snapped. "With Draco", she added quickly.

"WHAT!"

"You heard me right"

"No, I don't think so, because I thought you said that you were going to Venice over the weekend with Draco", Ginny said and looked shocked.

"I am"

"Why?"

"We're going on a conference", Hermione replied.

"Ok, but are you aware of that Venice is called 'the city of love'? People say that you can even fall in love with your worst enemy in Venice… Dear Merlin, this can't be good!"

"So what if I fall in love with him? I thought you wanted me to find someone!"

"Yes, I do Mione, but Draco Malfoy?" Ginny exclaimed. "His father was a death eater"

"Draco is not his father; he's nothing to do with the death eaters"

"Do you know what I think? I think you're already in love with him…" Ginny exclaimed and looked into Hermiones dreamy eyes.

Hermione didn't know what to answer… She had never loved anyone but Ron, but she sure felt something special for Draco, she just didn't know what it was yet. Maybe this weekend alone with him in Venice could help her figure it out?

"Mummy, look I can fly!" Hermione looked up at Becky; she was still running around in circles.

"Becky, stop running around, you're going to fall", Hermione said and rose from the bench and walked up to Becky. "Come on honey, we're going home", she continued and took Becky's hand. "Bye James, bye Ginny", she added without looking back at neither of them.

"I'm dizzy"

"And whose fault is that?" Hermione asked as they walked through the park towards their home.

"James", Becky replied. "He told me to fly"

Hermione sighed and lifted Becky and carried her, the rest of the way. She thought about where her daughter had got the obsession to fly from, it sure wasn't from her because she hated to fly. It must have been from Ron. _Of course! She got it from Ron! He loved flying, _Hermione thought and remembered all those times Ron had forced her to go with him on his broomstick.

"Becky, mummy is going away over the weekend"

"Can I come to?"

"No, I'm going to work, I think you would be bored", Hermione replied and looked into Becky's hazel eyes, the sparkled with energy. _Oh, I can't possibly stay away from her all weekend. _

"I can be home alone", she said and laughed. Hermione laughed as well, she loved to her Becky's laughter, and it could make her happy even if she was really depressed.

"No honey, you'll stay with grandma and grandpa", Hermione said and put Becky down on the ground again. The walked into the house, up the stairs and into their apartment, they made some sandwiches and drank some pumpkin juice, and when Becky, an hour later, laid in bed ready to sleep. She, once again, forced her mother to tell the story about her father. She never got tired of hearing it…Hermione told her the story and watched her daughter drift into a peaceful sleep… Normally when she watched her daughter sleep she thought about Ron because Becky reminded so much of him, but this night was different. There was another man in her thoughts, Draco; she just couldn't stop thinking about him. _Is this love?_


	9. Venice, the city of love?

**Chapter nine – Venice, the city of love?**

Draco and Hermione arrived to Venice around 7 pm at Thursday, that same night they had no conference to go to. They could just settle in their hotel rooms. Hermione was really amazed by her beautiful room, it was almost as big as her apartment and it had the most wonderful view over the ocean. She walked out on the balcony and just stood there enjoyed the view and listened to the sounds of the ocean. Everything was so peaceful.

"Lovely view isn't it?"

Hermione looked around, at the balcony next to hers stood Draco, smiling at her.

"Yes, it's beautiful", she replied and looked out over the ocean again.

"Do you enjoy your room?" He asked after a couple of minutes in silence.

"Oh yes", Hermione answered. "You?"

"It's a little lonely"

"Aw, poor little Draco, scared of being alone?" She teased him without having any idea of the he really was scared of being alone. He laughed a little, but then went quiet again. "Hey you, I was teasing you, aren't you going to tease me back?" Hermione asked and smiled at him.

"Not in the mood for teasing"

"Dear Merlin, something must be terribly wrong, Draco Malfoy is not in the mood for teasing", she said and burst out laughing. He smiled at her before he, with empty eyes, looked out over the ocean again. "Are you ok?" Hermione asked after she'd been watching him stare at the water for a minute or two.

"Yeah sure, I'm just… tired!" He replied. "I should probably get some sleep now, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow", he continued and started to move towards his door.

"Yeah, I should probably get some sleep to", Hermione said. "By the way Draco", she continued just as he was about to open his door, he stopped and looked straight into her eyes. "Thanks"

"For what?"

"For this, you have no idea how much I've been wanting to attend to this conference, it really means a lot to me", Hermione explained, he smiled at her and opened the door to his hotel room.

"Good night Granger", he said before he closed the door behind him.

Hermione stayed outside for about 30 more minutes before she went in to get some sleep.

The next morning she woke up around 10, took a shower, got dressed and then she, and Draco, went down to eat breakfast. At 12 they attended to the first, out of four, conferences. Hermione listened carefully to every single word that was said. She took it all in and hoped that she could go home and improve her writing even more. Draco didn't pay much attention to whoever was talking; he was watching Hermione all the time and it brought a smile to his lips to see her take notes and listen carefully. After the conference, when Hermione had finished talking to every journalist or writer that she found, they decided to walk back to the hotel. It was such a lovely night in August, the sun was about to go down and the sky was almost pink. Hermione was full of energy and talked about all the exciting things she had learned and the people she'd met Draco just smiled at her.

"And then I talked to this amazing writer, Robert Lawson, he was so nice", Hermione said. "Have you read any of his books by the way?"

"Yes, I read 'Invisible'", Draco replied.

"That's one of my favourite books!" Hermione said and smiled brightly. Draco didn't say anything. "Ok, tell me, what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?" Hermione asked and raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to tease me, you don't want to annoy me, you're barley talking and I haven't seen your smirk since we left England, there's got to be something…"

"No, it's nothing, really, I'm just amazed by this beautiful city", he replied as they walked along a shore.

"I don't like when you're so quiet, I never thought I'd say this but I miss the old Malfoy"

"The old Malfoy?"

"Not the Malfoy who was calling me a mudblood all the time, but the Malfoy you were right before we-" Hermione was interrupted by him grabbing her arm and pulling her close to his body. She felt like she lost her breath and her heart was beating faster then ever.

"I can't hold this inside anymore", he said. "I have wanted to do this since my first day at the Daily Prophet", he whispered against her lips. Then it happened, he leaned over and kissed her. Hermione felt like she was levitating a few inches over the ground. His tongue asked for permission to enter her mouth, she gave it to him and their tongues danced around with each other. After a breathtaking minute she pulled away to get some air, her arms was still around his neck and his arms was still wrapped around her waist.

"So that's why you wanted me to come with you to Italy?" She asked and smiled at him.

"Exactly", he replied and pressed his lips against her forehead. "We should get back to the hotel before it gets to dark"

"Afraid of darkness?" She teased, he laughed a little before he took a firm grip around her waist and lifted her up over his shoulder. "No! Let me down!" She shouted.

"Scared of heights Granger?"

"This not funny!" She yelled. Draco laughed and started walking towards the water. "Oh no, you don't want to do that!" She said as she noticed where he was headed. He was still laughing as he walked into the water without caring that he had a suit on. He walked until he had water to his thighs.

"No Draco! Please!" Hermione begged, but Draco did not listen. He threw her into the water. "I hate you!" She screamed and jumped over him so that they both got under water. When they got up again she grabbed his wet shirt and pulled him close. "I'm cold", she said and tried to sound angry, but she couldn't help smiling. Everything was just so… so… perfect…

"Let me make this up to you", he whispered.

"How?" She asked.

"I know the perfect way to get you warm again", he continued and that caused Hermione to shiver. They started to walk up towards the shore again. When they finally got up from the water they both kicked of their very wet shoes and walked barefoot in the sand the rest of the way to the hotel. None of them said a word until they stood outside Draco's hotel room.

"Would you like to come in?" He asked, and there it was again, his smirk but this time Hermione didn't find it annoying, this time she thought it was damn sexy.

"Yes, you promised to make me warm again, so I'm not leaving your side until I'm really, really hot"

He smirked once again and opened the door to let Hermione walk in, he walked in after her and as soon as he had locked the door behind them they were all over each other. He pressed her against the wall and placed kisses all over her neck and shoulders. She took of his jacket, undid his tie and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Stupid… buttons", she mumbled. Draco pulled away from her.

"Do you need some help?" He asked and without waiting for her to answer his question he undid the last buttons and pulled of his shirt. Hermione couldn't help staring at his perfectly shaped chest. "Come on", he said and lifted her up again.

"I am perfectly capable of walking myself Draco", she laughed. He smiled and gently put her down on top of the bed. "What are you waiting for?" She asked as he just stood there and watched her.

"Nothing", he whispered and climbed on top of her, they started to kiss, soft and slow at first but it got more and more intense and passionate. He unzipped her, still soaking wet, dress and she helped him to pull it of. She threw it away on the floor and they continued to kiss. "Still cold?" He mumbled between the kisses.

"A little", she lied and giggled as he started kissing his way down to her bellybutton and up to her lips again. He stopped and looked her deep into the eyes.

_He is amazing, _she thought and smiled as he rolled off her to take off his pants, and then rolled back on top of her. _This is amazing…_

"I'm back", he said with a bright smile on his face and kissed her softly on the lips.

_Oh dear Merlin, this is good, _she thought and started to play with her fingers in his hair. _Exactly the way Ron kissed me, _her thoughts about Ron ruined it all. She opened her eyes, looked at the engagement ring on her finger. Then she thought about Draco's engagement ring. _No, this is wrong! I can't do this, I have to go! _She felt panic-stricken as Draco continued to kiss her neck.

"Draco"

"Already calling out my name", he said between the kisses. "I like that", he mumbled. Hermione felt his arms around her back, heading for her bra.

"Draco, please, stop", she begged and felt the tears burn under her eyelids. She put her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this", she sobbed and quickly got up from the bed. Draco sat up at the edge of the bed and watched her put on her wet dress again.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Am I moving to fast?"

"It's not you", she said and fought hard not to cry. "I have to go", she continued and left the room. Draco heard the door slam, and then he heard her slam the door to her hotel room. He wanted to transfer himself into her room, just to see if she was ok but he guessed a visit from him wouldn't be much appreciated. _I'll speak to her tomorrow, the first thing in the morning…_

_Oh no, stupid, stupid me! Why did I have to destroy everything? Why did YOU have to destroy everything? _Hermione thought and glared at the golden ring on her finger. She took it of and looked at her hand without the ring on, it looked empty and it felt empty, she quickly put the ring back on. _Why am I so scared to let go of Ron and this stupid ring?_

"Ronald Weasley would you please get out of my mind?" She sobbed and changed from her wet dress to her white nightdress. She tuck herself into bed.

_I never should have left England; I should have listened to what Ginny said about going to Italy with Draco… How am I ever going to look him in the eyes again? He must think I'm the biggest freak in the whole wide world. One minute I'm flirting with him, and the next I'm telling him to get off me…_

The next morning Hermione woke up early and left for the second conference without telling Draco that she left. He was awake when she left and planned to bring her some breakfast, but when he knocked at her door he got no answer. He became worried and transferred into her room with a snap of his fingers…

"Hermione?" He called out, he looked around but no one was there. _Maybe she's left?_ He thought but then saw her clothes and her bags; he looked at his watch and understood… _She must have left for the conference_. He transferred back into his room again and used floo-power to get to the building where the conference was held. He waited outside the conference hall; he didn't want to go in. His mind was full of so many things at the moment; listening to a bunch of people talk would just make it worse. He waited, and waited… After three hours, the doors flung open and people started to come out. He noticed her at once; she was talking to a witch with long red hair.

"Hermione!"

She turned to look at whoever was calling her name. _Oh no, not him, keep walking Hermione, keep walking. I hope he didn't notice that I heard him…_ She thought and pretended like he didn't exist, but Draco knew that she'd heard him. He slowly made his way through the crowd and as soon as he got up next to her he had to walk very fast to keep up.

"Hey, slow down", he said and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She exclaimed and released her arm from his grip.

"Hermione!" She stopped. _Finally, _he thought, he was just about to say something when she slapped him on the cheek. "Ouch"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry", she said and immediately felt regret. "I don't know why I did it!" She continued, not noticing that people around them stopped and stared. "Draco I'm really sorry"

"What are you looking at?" Draco snapped and looked at the people who were staring at them. "Don't you have something better to do?" He yelled, and the crowd started to move again. He looked at Hermione and they walked into the conference room so that they could speak in privacy. "Now please tell me, what the hell did I do to deserve that slap?"

"Nothing, I said I don't know why I did it"

"Embarrassing me in front of some of the world's most famous writers and journalists, can you just imagine the headlines tomorrow?" He snapped. "And now, now I can't go anywhere this conference weekend without people looking at me and thinking 'oh there's that guy who got slapped in the face, isn't he the owner of the Daily Prophet?'"

"I said I'm sorry", Hermione said.

"And what about last night? Huh? What did I do wrong then?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing eh? Then tell me Granger, were you just using me to get a raise but in the middle of the act your know-it-all brain took over and told you that it was wrong using me. Huh?" He yelled. "Or were you just hungry for love because you haven't slept with anyone since your precious Ron died, and then you couldn't do it anyway because you still love him?"

Hermione slapped him again, this time harder. "That one… You deserved!" She said angrily and glared at him with hate. "I'm going home!"

"Yes, please go home!" He shouted after her. "Cause I sure as hell never want to see your face again"

Hermione packed her bags as she got back to the hotel, and with tears coming from her eyes she used floo-power to get back home…


	10. Wedding Magazines

**Chapter ten – Wedding magazines**

Hermione stayed in her apartment for a week after she got back home from Italy, told everyone that she was sick. Her mother took Becky to day-care every morning, and took her home again every afternoon. But one day, at the end of the weekend, it wasn't her mother taking Becky home; it was Ginny (and James).

"Hi", Ginny said and watched her friend with concern. Hermiones eyes were read because of all the tears she'd cried the last five days, her hair was tied back in a messy pony tail and she wore a morning robe. "Can we come in?" Ginny asked. James was already inside of course, he ran after Becky into her room.

"Sure", Hermione said quietly. Ginny got in and closed the door behind her.

They got into the kitchen, Ginny sat down by the table as Hermione poured up two cups of lemon tea.

"What's happened Hermione?"

"I've just been sick", Hermione replied and gave Ginny one cup, and then she sat down at the opposite side of the table.

"Something happened in Italy right?" Ginny asked and took a sip of her tea.

"I messed things up and now I can't go back to work"

"What have you done? Don't tell me you slept with him?"

"Almost…"

"Almost, how do you almost-"

"I wanted to do it, and he wanted to do it, but then I got scared and pushed him off of me and rushed out from his room… And the next day when he tried to talk to me I slapped him in the face in front of a lot of people, and now he hates me!" Hermione said with one breath. "He told me that he never wants to see my face again, I have no idea why I slapped him"

"Calm down"

"I think I love him Ginny!" Hermione said and felt the tears, once again, burn under her eyelids.

"I don't think you do, because if you really love him then why couldn't you sleep with him?"

"Because I panicked, I started thinking about Ron and my ring, and then I was thinking about Pansy, maybe he really, really loves her… And if she found out about me and Draco she would leave him and I don't want him to be unhappy"

"You do really like him then…" Ginny sighed. Hermione dried a tear that fell down her cheek. "Ok, I'm going to give you an advice", Ginny continued and looked seriously at Hermione. "On Monday when you're going back to work-"

"I'm never going back", Hermione interrupted.

"I'm not forcing you to do this, but please just listen to what I have to say", Ginny exclaimed. "Go to work on Monday, apologize to him and then tell him how you feel"

"No, the thing is, I don't know how I feel"

"Then just go there and apologize, Hermione, your passion is to write, you love working at the Daily Prophet, don't give up something you love so much because of him"

"You're right…" Hermione sighed.

"And Mione, you really should take of Ron's ring…" Ginny said quietly as if she were ashamed to say it, because it wasn't the first time she said that.

"I know, but it's so hard letting go", Hermione replied and looked at her ring.

"I think Ron wants you to move on too, or I know he wants you to move on", Ginny said. "He doesn't want the girl he adored to be sad all the time", she continued and smiled at Hermione who immediately smiled back at her. Ginny was definitely right! It was time for her to let go…

The weekend went by quickly. Hermione took of her engagement ring and put it in a box which she kept in the drawer beside her bed. She spent the entire weekend just being with Becky, doing all the stuff Becky wanted to do. They went to see two different quidditch games and they went to a muggle circus. When Hermione on Monday was going back to the Prophet to apologize to Draco she was in a really good mood. The lovely weekend with Becky had given her a lot of new energy. When she got to work, people were staring at her like she was a freak. She tried not to think about them when she walked up to Draco's office…

"Hi… er… the door was open", Hermione said quietly. Draco looked up at her without saying a word. "I have something I want to say to you"

"I have something I want to say to you too", he said. "I think you need to sit down", Hermione did as he said and sat down at the chair in front of his desk. "You've been gone for a week Granger"

"I've been sick"

"Then why haven't you told me?" He asked, Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "You can't disappear for a week, come back and expect to still have your job", he continued. "I had someone to replace you"

"Who?"

"Lynette Miller, she's doing a very good job"

"So what will happen to me now?" Hermione aside and felt like her heart was breaking.

"You'll have to find a new job"

_Don't cry, stay strong, don't cry, _she thought.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Nothing", Hermione exclaimed and rose from the chair, she hurried towards the door with tears in her eyes. Just as she was about to open that door a voice in her head said: _Don't be such a chicken Hermione! Tell him exactly what you came here to say!_

She stopped in front of the door and turned around to face him. He looked curiously at her.

"We have to talk about what happened last weekend?"

"What?" He said.

"About what happened between you and me in Venice..."

"Listen carefully to me Hermione", he said and rose from his chair. "What happened in Venice, stays in Venice, it was a big mistake and no one will ever find out about it, ok?"

"Ok…" Hermione whispered, once again it felt like her heart was breaking.

"Was that all?" He said with a cold voice.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize for slapping you in the face in front of all those people, I'm terribly sorry, I have no idea why I did it!" Hermione replied, before Draco even had time to open his mouth Hermione exclaimed: "The second slap you totally deserved"

"You like punching me right?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked and rolled her eyes at him.

"Remember third grade, when Hagrid's bloody chicken was being executed, Crabbe, Goyle and myself wanted to see the action and there you came with your annoying friends, and you punched me… Right on the nose", he said. "And dear Merlin it hurt!" He continued with a smile on his lips.

"I'm glad it hurt!"

Draco was still smiling. "I'm quite impressed actually, it was a great punch"

"Thanks", she said and smiled back at him. "I know"

"I guess I own you an apology too", he said quietly and his smiled faded away. "I'm sorry for what I said about you only wanting to sleep with me to get a raise… And for what I said about, er, you and yeah, you know… Ron", he continued. "I was really angry at the time and what I said was really stupid"

_Not so stupid actually, you pointed out the truth, because it was because of my thoughts of Ron that I ran away, _Hermione thought and was just about to open her mouth when he said something else.

"And I'm really sorry about having to fire you Granger, but I can't change the rules for one person… If you come back now everybody will think that it's ok to be gone for a week and then come back!" Draco explained and started to walk towards her.

"I understand", she replied quietly. "It's ok; I'll just find someone else"

"You're an excellent writer Granger; do you know what I think you should do?" He asked.

"No"

"I think you should write a book", he replied and smirked at her as she took one step back when he came closer to her. He stopped and said: "You should write about the 'famous trio' that killed Voldemort once and for all, write about Potter and his annoying scar, write about how your smartness helped you guys through so many things and write about how Ron practically saved the whole magical world by sacrificing his own life".

Hermione listened carefully to every word he said; it wasn't such a bad idea.

"It would be a great story, everybody loves Potter for killing Voldemort, it would most definitely be a best seller", Draco said and smirked, he looked proud that he was the one coming up with that idea.

The door opened and Pansy stepped in.

"Drakie, look what I have", she exclaimed and showed some magazines that held in her hands.

"Um, what's that?" He asked.

"Bridal magazines!" She said and opened one of them. "Look at this lovely necklace, I want it, can you buy it for me honey?"

"Pansy, it's five months until the wedding, don't you think-"

"No, I want it now! And I want those earrings too", she said and pointed at a couple of diamond earrings.

"500 galleons for a pair of earrings!" Draco exclaimed.

"No dear, that's for one earring, I need two… That makes it 1000!" She replied and smiled, and then she turned to look at Hermione. "Oh, Hermione, are you here?"

"Er… yeah… But I was just about to leave anyways"

"No, please stay, you can help me to chose a wedding dress", Pansy said and sat down on the sofa. "Come here honey, sit down, I won't bite", she continued. Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry, was Pansy making fun of her? Or was she actually serious? "Come on! Sit down! I don't have all day"

Hermione sat down beside Pansy.

"What do you think about this one?" Pansy said and pointed at a dress in the top right corner.

"It's-"

"Or this one? It's much better", Pansy interrupted her. "And more expensive!"

"I think-"

"No! This one, oh dear Merlin, just look at it, isn't it gorgeous?"

"Yes, it-"

"Oh no, it's too cheap, can't have it!" Pansy exclaimed. "I can't possibly wear anything that costs under 200 galleons", she continued. "Hello? Aren't you gonna tell me anything about what you think?"

"Maybe if you could shut your mouth for a minute or two Hermione could tell you what she thinks", Draco said and sat down behind his desk again. He looked at Hermione with a stare that said 'sorry that you have to listen to her endless talk'… She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. Pansy didn't notice them smiling at each other, she was too busy turning from page to page in her bridal magazines.

"Granger, what do you think about this one?" Pansy asked and gave Hermione a slight push on the arm.

"It's ok", Hermione replied. "But I like this one better", she continued and pointed at a totally different dress. Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Drakie! Which one do you like better?" She said and walked up to his desk. "This one", she pointed at the dress she liked. "Or this one", she said and pointed at the dress Hermione liked better. Draco looked at both of the dresses…

"Um, that one, it's way better", he said and pointed at the dress that Hermione liked. Pansy's chin dropped to the floor, she looked like someone just had told her that the world was going under. Hermione fought hard not to burst out laughing as she rose from the sofa. Draco smirked at Pansy. "What's up Pansy? You look like your whole world is going under"

"I have to leave now", Hermione said and rose from the sofa.

"Oh, well, it's been nice working with you; promise to tell me when you finish your book"

"If I ever finish a book!" Hermione said.

"You better", Draco said, and then he looked at Pansy. "Aren't you going to thank Hermione for her opinions?"

"Thanks, mudblood", Pansy said and glared at Hermione with hatred.

_Now that's the Pansy I know, _Hermione thought and rolled her eyes. "No problem", she said and smiled. Then she turned her back at the couple and left the office.

"Why the hell did you chose 'her' dress?"

"You asked me which one I liked better and I gave you my opinion", Draco replied.

"Oh my god, she's so annoying", Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't understand how you stand being around her everyday"

"Listen Pansy, you don't know her, she's actually quite ok if you get to know her", Draco replied. "It's sad I had to fire her…"

"Fire her?" Pansy exclaimed with a smile on her lips. "That's more like it Drakie"

"Can you stop calling me Drakie?" Draco yelled.

"Take it easy, no need to scream"

"Oh yeah, there is need to scream, what the hell are you doing here by the way?" Draco said angrily. "Don't you remember that I told you not to come to my office?"

"I remember, but we have a wedding to plan Drakie"

"NOT DRAKIE!" He shouted and rose from his chair. "I want you to get out of here so that I can do my job", he continued and walked up to her.

"But Drakie…" She said with a smirk, just to annoy him.

"Go home; I'll try to get of early so that we can plan this fucking wedding"

"Fucking wedding? What are you talking about? It's supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, don't use words like that to describe our special day", Pansy exclaimed. "But I love you anyways", she continued with a smile and kissed the tip of his nose. "Aren't you going to tell me that you love me to?"

"I love you", he whispered.

"Aw, honey", she said and kissed him softly on the lips. He lip gloss tasted like vanilla, she knew he loved that taste. "I'll cook something for you until you get home"

"Please don't…" He said.

"You know what I mean when I say I'll cook something"

"Yeah, you're going to order from River View Garden", Draco replied. Pansy laughed hysterically, which caused Draco to sigh deeply. _Go home! _He thought, and it was like she read his mind. She took her magazines, kissed him passionately, said good bye and left his office.


	11. A Flying Princess

**Chapter 11 – A Flying Princess**

The following two weeks Hermione tried hard to find a new job. She looked in papers for job ads, she went to different shops in Diagon Alley and she tried at the ministry. But she found nothing. The new minister, Percy Weasley, told her that they didn't have a single job to offer her at the moment. It didn't help that she was one in the family, there was nothing he could do to get her a job there.

"Try later this year", he said.

These two weeks without a job had also been quite positive. She'd spent almost all the time with Becky, and she'd been talking to Harry about the book idea that Draco had given her. To Hermione's great surprise Harry had actually liked the idea. She thought that he would have been all negative about it, but he liked it a lot. He was really tired of having to answer questions about his life all the time wherever he went…

"Maybe if people read about it in a book that wouldn't have to ask me", he said. So Hermione started to write, a little every night and every day when Becky wasn't day-care and she didn't look around for a new job…

One afternoon at the end of the week when she'd picked up Becky from day-care they followed Ginny to her and Harry's house. Harry was working late so they had asked Luna to come over, so they could have their 'girl night' that they were supposed to have three weeks ago when Hermione went to Italy with Draco.

"Becky, James, come down and eat", Hermione shouted up the stairs and soon the both came running down.

"Aunt Mione, Becky is a princess!" James screamed and hugged Hermiones leg. "It's so much fun"

"I'm sure it is", Hermione replied and laughed as the little red haired Harry clone sat down beside her daughter. Hermione sat down at the other side of Becky, and on her other side was Luna.

"What are you two doing upstairs?" Ginny asked and looked from Becky to James.

"James is a knight, and I'm a princess", Becky said with her mouth full of chicken.

"Honey, don't speak with your mouth full", Hermione said.

"I don't want to be knight, I want to be a dragon", James exclaimed.

"You must be the knight, because you must save me from Voldemort", Becky replied. "Voldemort has locked me into a tower and I can't get out, my knight must save me"

"RAWWWWWRR"

"James! You don't have to scream!" Ginny exclaimed and gave her son an angry look.

"But I'm a dragon", he replied and started laughing hysterically. Becky sighed.

"Ok, the knight turned into a dragon so the princess had to build wings and fly out from the tower", she said and hoped that James would like that idea.

"Yaay! And the dragon eat Voldemort"

"James, eat now, talk later", Ginny said. "All great dragons must eat their food before they can play with their friends"

"Ok mum", he replied and started to eat. As soon as both he and Becky had finished their dinner they both ran up the stairs to his room again.

"What are you smiling at Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"It's just… When Becky was talking with her mouth full of food before", Ginny started and smiled even wider. "I could see Ron in front of me"

"So could I", said Luna. "She's going to become a female version of him, is she afraid of spiders too?"

"No, she's not afraid of anything, and that scares me a little", Hermione replied and stroke some hair out of her face. Luna gasped as she saw Hermiones empty hand.

"Mione, show me your hand", she exclaimed. Hermione held her hand up. "When did you take it off?" Luna asked.

"Two weeks ago, after a much inspiring talk with Mrs. Potter", Hermione said and smiled at Ginny. "And it feels really good, almost like I'm a new person"

"You look like a new person", Luna said. "Sparkling happy eyes, bright smile… _It must have been love_", she continued with a singing voice. Both Hermione and Ginny burst out laughing, Luna's singing voice wasn't the best in the whole wide world and she knew it so she kept singing. "_I guess I'm uptight and I'm stuck like glue, cause I ain't never. I ain't never, I ain't never, no, no loved a man. The way that I, I love you_"

"Luna", Hermione giggled. "You know we love you but please shut your mouth!"

"Are you saying that you don't like the way I sing?"

"Yes!" Both Hermione and Ginny replied, and all three of them burst out laughing.

"Mione, now you have to tell us everything about Italy", Ginny said and Luna nodded her head in agreement.

"I have already told you guys the story"

"Yeah, we've heard all the bad stuff like you running away from his hotel room, slapping him in the face", Luna said. "We want to here the romantic stuff, like how did you end up in his hotel room? Was he a good kisser?"

"Alright I'll tell you", Hermione said and smiled. "We were on our way back to the hotel and we walked along this beautiful beach and I was talking non stop about the conference we'd just been to, he was really quiet"

"Boring! We want action!" Ginny exclaimed and both she and Luna burst out laughing.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" They both nodded their heads, still laughing. "Ok, I asked him what was wrong and then he dragged me into his arms and said 'I've wanted to do this since my first day at the Daily Prophet' and then he kissed me…"

"Oh, look at her eyes when she talks about him", Luna said to Ginny, they both giggled. Hermione just rolled her eyes at them and continued with her story.

"He said that we should go back to the hotel before it got to dark and I asked 'Afraid of darkness?', then he lifted me up over his shoulder and threw me into the water, and then I of course pushed him under the water surface", Hermione told her two friends who now listened carefully to her story. "Then I grabbed his shirt, pulled him close and said 'I'm cold', and he said 'I know the perfect way to get you warm again'!"

"Oh dear god, that's hot!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I know", Hermione replied and smiled.

"Now look at the way she's smiling", Luna giggled. "She's so in love with this guy"

"I'm not", Hermione said, still smiling. "Anyways, when we came back to his hotel room we were all over each other, it was just amazing until yeah… you know…"

"That sounds awesome", Luna said and watched Hermione with dreamy eyes.

"Too bad I have to get over him already", Hermione sighed. "He is after all getting married"

"Ah, screw Pansy! I can't believe what I'm going to say right now but I think you should go for it", Ginny said. "After what you told me about Pansy and her wedding magazines it seems like she's the one who wants to get married, not him"

"I don't know, I don't want to destroy anything for them"

"Mione, last time I saw those sparkles in your eyes was when you and Ron told us all that you were engaged", Ginny said. "Right Luna?"

"Exactly, Hermione, go for it!"

"No, you guys, I'm not a man stealer", Hermione replied.

"Aw, this is so typical when you finally find someone he's getting married… to a pug faced bitch who wants ear rings that costs more than what Neville and I make together on a month", Luna said angrily.

"She'll find someone else", Ginny said to Luna.

"Yeah, I just hope it doesn't take 5 years this time", Hermione laughed.

Ginny was just about to open her mouth and say something when James ran into the kitchen.

"Hey there little fellow", she said. "What are you two doing?"

"We're playing dragon and princess", James replied.

"Sounds funny, where's Becky?" Hermione asked and smiled at James.

"She's outside"

"What is she doing outside, it's getting dark"

"The princess was in the tower and we build wings for her and then she was going to fly out from the tower", James explained. "She flied out from the window and now she's sleeping on the grass", he continued and it felt like someone stuck a knife into Hermiones heart. "She doesn't want to wake up"

"Oh no", Hermione exclaimed and quickly got up from her chair and rushed out in the garden. Luna, Ginny and James were right behind her. She ran around the house and screamed 'no' when she saw the body of her daughter lying there in the grass. She knelt beside Becky's body and desperately tried to wake her up. "Becky, honey, please wake up!"

Painful flashbacks came to her mind.

_She saw the green flashes hit Ron in the chest; he screamed and fell to the ground. Voldemort gave up a heartless and evil laughter as Harry pointed his wand at him and shouted 'Avada Kedavra'._

_Hermione knelt beside the body of her boyfriend and shook him up and down… "Ron, honey, please wake up"_

"Becky, baby!" She wept with tears streaming down her face.

"We have to take her to St Mungos", Luna exclaimed.

"Dear Merlin I'm going to lose her", Hermione sobbed.

"Hermione! Don't say that!" Ginny said.

More painful memories came to Hermiones mind, this time from her nightmare when she'd dropped Becky from the balcony and there were voices outside the door telling her that she was a bad mother.

"I'm a bad mother"

"Hermione, take it easy, come on let's get her inside so that we can floo to St Mungos"

"A bad mother". Hermione whispered. Ginny slapped Hermione on the cheek. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make you understand that you have to take Becky to St Mungos!"

"Oh god, you're right", Hermione said and lifted Becky up in her arms. They all hurried inside and Hermione, with Becky in her arms, stepped into the fireplace.

"Call us when you know what's happening", Ginny said before Hermione used the floo power to get to St Mungos.

After an hour of waiting beside Becky's bed after the medical examination a healer came into the room. Hermione was patting Becky's hand and watched her pale, still unconscious, face.

"Miss Granger", the healer said. Hermione turned around and faced a man in his thirties; he walked up and sat down at the edge of the bed. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Rebecca has got a concussion and a sprained ankle, she will be just fine"

"Oh", Hermione sighed and felt relieved. "Thank you so much"

"She'll have to stay the night though", the healer said. "We'll bring you an extra bed so you can stay the night to, cause I assume that you're not planning on leaving her side", he continued and smiled at her. Hermione smiled back at him that was answer enough. "I'm Mike Walls by the way", he said and shook Hermione's hand.

"Hermione", she replied.

"I have two kids myself so I know exactly how you've been feeling", Mike said. "I think you should go down to the cafeteria and grab something to eat", he continued and smiled at her once again before he left the room to go and get the extra bed for Hermione.

"Mummy is just going down to eat, I'll be right back honey", Hermione whispered and kissed Becky's forehead. "I love you"


	12. Confessions at St Mungo's

**Chapter 12 – A night at St Mungos**

Hermione got up to the cafeteria at St Mungos; she bought a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee and sat down by one of the tables. She pictured Becky in her mind; she was sleeping peacefully with a small smile on her lips. _She my own sleeping beauty, _Hermione thought and smiled to herself and took a sip of her coffee. She noticed that a tall man walked into the cafeteria but she didn't pay attention to look any closer at him, until two minutes later when he was standing in front of her table…

"Look who's here", he said. "I'm starting to believe that you're stalking me Granger"

"Maybe I am", Hermione replied quietly and looked straight into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing here? Not sick, are you?" He asked.

"It's my daughter", she answered not sure if she wanted to tell him exactly what had happened. "And you?" She asked before he had the time to say anything.

"I'm here with my mother", he replied. "She's here for some cancer treatment and she did not want to go alone", he continued in a tone Hermione never heard him use before. It was warm and friendly, a tone that you spoke with when you talked about someone that really you loved from the bottom of your heart.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Hermione said. "She will be ok, right?"

"I don't know, the healers say it's pretty serious and she's in a lot of pain", Draco answered. "And what about your daughter? Is it serious?"

"No, it's just a concussion and a strained ankle, she's going to be just fine", Hermione replied and noticed that his eyes weren't blue as they always had been before, they were grey…

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Draco asked, Hermione smiled a little, he took that as a 'yes' and sat down beside her. "I can't stand being in that room watching her lay there, pale and with empty eyes, staring at the ceiling", Draco continued and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm afraid I might lose her too"

Hermione remembered that Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, was the first in line of the death eaters to receive the dementor's kiss. Hermione, Ginny and Harry had seen when it happened; Draco had also been there to see. Hermione could clearly remember the look on Draco's face when he saw the dementor suck his father's soul out… She could picture it in front of her, the moment when Draco walked up to his father after he'd received the kiss. How he'd called his fathers name but without any answer and then how Draco had knelt to the ground with tears in his eyes… Knowing that his father would never recognize him again, he would never be around to share the few happy memories they had together and he wouldn't be around to watch him grow up, get married and start a family of his own. Lucius died three days later, he wanted to die… A life without a soul is not anything anyone ever wishes for.

"She's the only family I have left", Draco said quietly.

"You've still got Pansy"

"She's not my family, she's my… er… whatever… I don't count her as one in the family", he replied.

"How can you say that about someone that's going to be your wife?" Hermione wondered.

"Easy, cause I don't love her", Draco snorted.

"That's odd", Hermione said and raised an eyebrow. "Why would you marry someone you don't love?"

"We're betrothed to each other", he replied. "Our marriage have been planned since we were born"

"Oh", Hermione sighed and took a bite of her sandwich.

"But at least she seems to love me so I guess I can learn to love her, or something", he said and took a sip of his coffee.

"Um, sure", Hermione said and tried to smile at him to make him feel like he really could learn to love someone, she didn't know if that was possible but she wanted him to think so… "When's the wedding?"

"December", Draco replied. "And that's a good start since I hate everything that has to do with the winter", he continued and rolled his eyes. Hermione looked deep into them.

"Why do you hate the winter?" Hermione asked. "It's so beautiful with all the snow and Christmas-"

"I hate Christmas", he interrupted her. "I have always hated Christmas, and I will always hate Christmas", he said. Hermione sighed, _there's no point in me talking to him if he's going to be so negative all the time, _she thought and took a sip of her coffee.

"Christmas eve for me is like this; I give Pansy tons of expensive presents and then she wants to have sex the entire night but I don't so she goes angry, runs out of the house and stay out the whole night", he continued and looked bored.

"Thanks for the information", Hermione sighed and tried to understand how he must feel. Marrying someone that you don't even love… _I must say something that can cheer him up a little bit, something that will give him some hope for his future with Pansy._ "Do you know what Malfoy? I think a winter wedding suits you perfectly"

"Why? Because I'm cold-hearted?" He replied.

"That's not what I was thinking about!" She exclaimed.

"Then what were you thinking?" Draco asked and raised an eyebrow.

"You said you hate the winter so much, but now you will at least have something to celebrate"

"Oh, it's going to be terribly funny celebrating a marriage with a woman I don't even love", Draco snapped and rolled his eyes at Hermiones answer.

"I'm sorry, I am trying to be nice here", Hermione said and looked away from him. Silence broke out between them. Draco seemed to regret that he snapped at her so he didn't take his eyes away from his cup of coffee. The silence was almost embarrassing. Hermione finished her sandwich and drank her coffee.

"Er… I think I better go back to Becky now", she said and rose from her chair. It was like Draco didn't hear what she said, he was still staring at his coffee. "Hello?" She exclaimed and waved her hand in front of him. He woke up from his thought and looked up at her. "Draco?" She said.

He lost his breath for a second when he saw how her lips curved when she said his name. _She's so damn fine, _he thought.

"Draco, are you alright?" Hermione asked and sounded worried. He was staring right at her but his eyes were so empty that it almost scared Hermione. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Draco?"

"Um… what?" Asked Draco and looked rather confused.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm ok", he replied quietly and felt a strange feeling growing inside of him. _What the hell are these feelings good for? I can't stare at her like this, damn, stare at the coffee, oh, interesting coffee… So black so beautiful, just like her eyelashes. Wait a minute? Did I just think about her eyelashes, dear Merlin, I seriously have to get away from her, _he thought and quickly got up from his chair. So quick that he spilled the coffee all over his pants. "Damn!"

"What are you smirking at?" Draco snapped and as he looked up at Hermione.

"I'm sorry", Hermione giggled.

"This is not funny, I'm soaking wet", he said. "Reminds me of Venice when you-" He stopped in the middle of the sentence. _Do not bring that up Draco, you did not at all enjoy what happened in Venice, so for gods sake do not talk about it! _A little voice in his mind said.

"Do you need some help?" Hermione asked.

"Do you have any pants in my size in your pocket so yes please, I could really use them", he replied.

"I don't, sorry, but I know a good spell that'll get you dry in no time"

"Well, what are you waiting for, use it!" Draco exclaimed.

"I don't have my wand", she said and smirked at him.

"Use mine", he said and handed it over to her. When she reached out her hand to take the wand she accidentally touched his hand. They froze for a second and looked into each others eyes. They both looked away at the same time as Draco let go of the wand. Hermione pointed the wand at his pants and said the spell that made them dry again. He thanked her as she gave back his wand.

When Hermione got back to Becky's room Mike, the healer, was sitting on the edge of Becky's bed talking to Becky. As soon as he noticed that Hermione stepped into the room he rose from the bed and smiled brightly at her. Then he gave Becky a wink, she giggled.

"There's your bed Miss Granger, just call on me if you need anything", he said. "And Becky, it's our secret, ok?" He continued and smiled at Becky.

"Yes", Becky replied and giggled even more. Mike burst out laughing and turned to face Hermione.

"She can go home tomorrow", Mike told Hermione and smiled as he left the room. Hermione sat down at the edge of Becky's bed.

"What's you secret?"

"If I tell you it won't be secret anymore", Becky replied and smiled. "I missed you mummy", she continued and that made Hermione feel bed for not being there when she woke up.

"Mummy missed you too", Hermione whispered and kissed Becky's forehead. "You really scared my honey, what were you thinking jumping out from the window?"

"I had to escape from Lord Voldemort", she replied seriously.

"Becky, don't ever do that again, ok?"

"You don't want me to escape from Voldemort?" Becky gasped.

"I don't want you to jump out any windows ever again, is that clear?"

"Ok mummy", Becky said. "Not even if I have wings?"

"As soon as I get enough money I'll buy you a broomstick, until then, no flying!" Hermione said and stroke her hand over Becky's cheek. "Now tell me, what were you and doctor Mike talking about?"

"I can't tell you", she replied and yawned. Hermione smiled, even though she badly wanted to know about their secret she wasn't going to ask Becky more about it right now. She could see that Becky was really tired. "Can you tell a story mum?"

"What kind of story?"

"About a princess who's got a silver pony…"

"Ok… Once upon a time there was a young and very beautiful princess, she lived in a castle with her family. She had everything she could ever wish for but she still wasn't happy… Something was missing in her life and she was going to find out what it was", Hermione told Becky who was listening intensely. "So the princess decided to leave the castle and go out in the world looking for the missing part of her life, she said goodbye to her family, took her silver pony and left"

Becky yawned once again and closed her eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep, Hermione smiled.

"What would I have done if I lost you?" She asked quietly and kissed her forehead once again. She lies down beside Becky and put her arms around the little girl, not noticing that Draco was standing outside the door watching her…

He listened closely to every word of the fairytale Hermione told her daughter and he watched her smile as she little Becky fall asleep.

"What would I have done if I lost you?" She asked quietly and kissed her forehead once again. Draco smiled, the love between mother and daughter was really beautiful.

_That's the kind of mother I want my children to have, _he thought, still smiling.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" A voice behind him asked.

"Eh… um… nothing, I was just…" Draco replied and turned around quickly to face a healer. It was Mike Walls, but Draco had not seen him before so he had no idea who it was.

"I think you should leave them alone", Mike said and closed the door to Becky's room. He was just going to ask Draco if he knew Hermione or Becky but when he turned around Draco was gone…


End file.
